The Fascinating Silver Red
by Doughnut Gunso
Summary: Following the events in "The Wind Sees Daisy", Mikado has some new plans, Nagi has her fondness of a hero renewed, and Hinagiku has another identity crisis…
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1: Fan-boys and -girls are the real cause of midtown madness**_

It was a very stormy night. Autumns are not supposed to be so stormy, but heavy rain was pouring down, accompanied by frequent lightning and thundering. If God were in control of the weather, then He was very angry this night.

An old man watched the heavy rain through window, looking tired and sad. After a while, he moved away from the window, took a bottle of extremely fine whisky, and poured some into a glass. He set the glass on his desk near the lamp, the only light source of the room. Yet, the dim light wasn't hiding the old man's sad face. In fact, his emotions were highlighted.

"Damn Katsura girl," he whispered, after finishing and reloading his drink. Certain flashes of his memory jumped up to haunt him: a huge fall from the top of the tower, the destruction of the sword he desired… "DAMN!" he yelled and threw the glass to the ground, shattering it. He panted heavily as he was absolutely furious.

The door swung open and a young girl in kimono stepped in. "What makes you so angry, Mr. Mikado?" asked the girl.

Sanzen'in Mikado turned his furious eyes on the girl. "You were not performing!" he barked as he pointed a finger at her. "You were supposed to keep an eye on your President, but look at what she has done to me!"

The girl smiled. "Hina is not a girl I can control," she said calmly. "If things get out of my control, there is nothing I can do to stop your… humiliation."

"The Hell it was, and now everything is over!" roared Mikado. "I have lost the sword. I have lost the key to the Garden. I have lost my chance. Oh, my poor girl, Yukariko…" He was actually sobbing as he mentioned his daughter's name.

The girl in kimono stepped forward. "May I suggest that not all chances are lost?"

"What do you mean?" asked Mikado, half-laughing.

The girl pulled out an amulet from within her kimono. "We still have this King's Jewel," she said softly. "We can open the Garden Gate with it."

Mikado snorted. "Only the rightful owner of the Garden Gate can open the path with it, and the Katsura girl…"

"Hina is not necessarily the one to open the Gate for you," said the girl, interrupting Mikado.

Mikado was stunned. He stepped around his desk considering the girl's words, and suddenly he understood what she was suggesting to him. A moment later, a small grin appeared on his face.

"Then do it," he said as he pointed a finger at the girl again. "Failure is not an option this time."

"It never has been," said the girl with a dark smile.

* * *

It was late September. Autumn Festival was near, and everyone was looking forward to it. Shops were busy with Autumn Festival promotion campaigns, and booths were setting up on the plaza in the shopping district. It seemed that the Festival had already begun.

At the centre of the plaza, a stage was being set. A certain person in a red Rangers costume was fighting with a "monster". It was, of course, not a real monster, but an actor in a monster costume. The two of them were rehearsing for the coming hero show, titled "The Guardian of Justice! The Fascinating Silver Red". A lot of people were watching the rehearsal, and they often cheered for the hero. Silver Red was said to be the guardian of the district, and was an extremely popular figure among adults and children.

Among the many people heading towards the stage to see their hero, there was a girl with blonde twin-tail, and a boy with blue hair. The girl, who was in her school uniform, was dragging the boy, who was in a butler suit, along.

"Move quickly, Hayate!" shouted Sanzen'in Nagi cheerfully. "We have to move up front or we are not seeing Silver Red!"

"Yes, I understand, milady!" exclaimed Hayate, who was amazed by his lady's enthusiasm. Nagi was not a girl who was eager with outdoor events and festivals, as her only interests were manga, anime and games. Maybe Silver Red was part of Nagi's world.

As they moved closer and closer to the stage, they came across with more and more people. Hayate the combat butler took up the responsibility to protect his lady by fending off people who were pushing against Nagi. Several people went flying without even knowing why. With some efforts, Hayate and Nagi finally reached the forefront of the crowd.

"Yes, here we are!" said Nagi happily, and she gave her butler a sweet smile. "Thank you, Hayate!"

"It… it is nothing, milady," said Hayate as he smiled back, slightly panting.

"This is not good, Nagi, Hayate-kun!" said a voice nearby. Nagi and Hayate looked around and saw Katsura Hinagiku, the Student Council President, frowning at them with her hands on her hips. "You can't force yourselves through the crowd like that. People might get hurt."

"But I want to see Silver Red closely," said Nagi, without much guilt in her words.

"Still…"

"What about you? You must have forced your way here as well, haven't you?" asked Nagi.

"I have been here since an hour ago," said Hinagiku, still frowning. "There wasn't anyone here."

"Oh…" said Nagi absentmindedly. So her strike-back at Hinagiku was not successful.

"Why are you here, Hinagiku-san?" asked Hayate.

Hinagiku blinked. "Well, we are…" she began, but she looked uneasy.

"We are here to see how the Autumn Festival preparation is going," said a voice next to Hinagiku. "Hakuou Academy is one of the main sponsors of the Festival, and the Student Council has the duty to make sure everything runs smoothly."

Hayate turned to the girl who answered his question. It was an elegant girl with purple hair, who was slightly shorter than Hinagiku. "Oh, Aika-san, hello," he said with a beam.

"Hello, Ayasaki-kun," said Kasumi Aika, the Vice President of the Student Council.

Nobody noticed the relieved expression on Hinagiku's face. She was here not only to check out the Festival preparation, and she did not want Hayate to know about it.

"Go! Go! Silver Red!" yelled Nagi as she saw the hero in costume fighting the monster. Everybody turned their attention to the fight on stage. Soon Hayate found that something was wrong.

"Why are his skills so poor?" he asked as he frowned.

"How rude, Hayate!" snapped Nagi. "He is an actor, not a fighter like you!"

"It's not like that, milady," said Hayate as he shook his head. "Last time I saw the show, Silver Red was also acting, but his skills were much better. And besides…" he began, but he suddenly had the feeling that the rest of the sentence was a bit too unreal. "Well, anyway, I wonder if the actor for Silver Red has changed."

Aika gave Hinagiku a slight nudge in the arm, who blushed.

* * *

About half an hour later, the rehearsal was over, and the actors returned to the dressing room. The crowd cheered for them passionately, but the crew were so tired they could not really respond.

Once in the dressing room, Silver Red removed the helmet and revealed a man of about 30 years old. "Hoo…" he exclaimed as he buried his face in a towel. He was sweating heavily.

"Nice work, Taro," said an assistant with a clap on his shoulder. "They crowd love you."

"It is extremely exhausting," said the actor Taro weakly, emerging from the towel. "I tell you what, for a moment on the stage, I hoped that I remain injured. It is just too hard to act in this costume."

"Don't say things like that," said the assistant, clapping his shoulder again. "You are a man, Taro. If you can't stand this, then what about the girl who helped us out when you were injured?"

Taro smiled. "Speaking of the girl, I haven't thanked her yet." He looked up and saw a much smaller costume hanging in the closet. "Is that her suit?"

"Yes," said the assistant with a nod. "She returned this to us today, and asked us to incinerate. But the girl who came with her – the Vice President, I guess – told us later that she has changed her mind. Girls are sometimes quite strange, huh?"


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2: Sometimes the same old story is the best**_

The majority of the crowd had already left the stage for other booths and shows, but Nagi showed no intention to leave yet.

"Why are we staying here, milady?" asked Hayate, who was a bit surprised that Nagi hadn't demanded to go home for video games.

"I want to ask for Silver Red's signature!" said Nagi eagerly, pulling a signing board out of nowhere.

"Again?" asked Hayate. He thought that Nagi had already asked for Silver Red's signature once.

"Well, you know," said Nagi, lowering her voice as she looked embarrassed. "As we moved twice over the summer, it is understandable that something is lost, and my signing board… happens to be lost."

Hayate turned to Hinagiku. "Have you lost anything over the summer, Hinagiku-san?"

"No," said Hinagiku. "You wouldn't lose things that easily if you have packed your things properly, Nagi."

"Ah, shut up, will you?" demanded Nagi. "I can ask for Silver Red's signature again, and everything will be fine!" With that, she ran towards the dressing room. Hayate, Hinagiku and Aika followed her.

"She really likes this Silver Red, doesn't she?" asked Hinagiku.

"Well, milady loves hero shows," said Hayate, beaming. "And Silver Red is one of her favourite heroes."

"Oh, I see…" said Hinagiku, but Hayate did not notice that she slightly blushed.

* * *

"Silver Red, could you please sign this for me?" asked Nagi as she opened the dressing room door. Her butler had never reminded her to knock before she enters, because he had never obeyed this rule himself.

"Why, you…" yelped Taro, who was completely taken by surprise. Obviously, he never expected that he would have guests.

The crew intended to chase Nagi away, but Hayate and the other two girls arrived at that moment. Aika gave the crew a nod, and they stopped. Hinagiku looked as if she wasn't sure whether to say hi or not. On the one hand, she knew them; on the other hand, she didn't want people to know she knew them…

Taro looked around. He knew that there was only one right thing to do, so he took the board from Nagi and signed "Silver Red" on it. "Next time, remember to knock," he said. "It is very impolite, especially in Western countries." Hinagiku nudged Hayate in the ribs.

"Speaking of Western countries, have you been to Greece, Mr. Silver Red?" Hayate asked Taro as he rubbed his ribs. He wasn't sure why he had asked this question, but he asked anyway.

Taro racked his brain. "Yes," he answered.

"Recently?"

"Yeah, why?" said Taro as he returned the board to Nagi.

"Nothing," said Hayate, as he thought he was reassured that Taro was the Silver Red he met at Athena's mansion in Greece. Unfortunately for him, Taro had indeed been to Greece, but it was in August, not May.

"Thank you!" said Nagi cheerfully as she took the board back. However, as she looked at the board, she was crestfallen.

"What is the matter, milady?" asked Hayate in a whisper.

"It's weird, Hayate," replied Nagi, also in a whisper. "The signature isn't right."

"What?"

"Like I said, it is different," said Nagi. "The pattern has completely changed."

"Changed, huh…?" said Hayate thoughtfully. And then he moved: so quickly that nobody saw it coming, and the next thing the others knew, Hayate was grabbing Taro from behind. Everybody screamed, but Taro shouted the loudest. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

Hayate let him go. "Nothing," he said. "I am sorry." Grabbing Taro from behind did not feel like last time. "_So he isn't the real Silver Red after all…_" he thought to himself.

"We are truly sorry, Mr. Silver Red," said Hinagiku finally, blushing furiously. "We are leaving right now," she said as she grabbed Hayate by his tie, dragging him away.

Taro calmed himself down as the students left. "So that was the girl, right?" he asked the crew. "The one who took my place when I was injured?"

He received a nod as reply.

* * *

"Honestly, you can't do things like that, Hayate-kun! You are a student at Hakuou Academy, so think about how much damage your actions would do to our school's reputation!"

Once they returned to the plaza, Hinagiku started giving Hayate the Sermon of the Day. He had a very bad record of making her mad, but this time he had gone too far. Offending a member of the public was much worse than offending her… wait, why was it so?

"I am sorry, Hinagiku-san," Hayate bowed over and over again as he apologized to her. Oddly enough, while she was as angry at him as ever, Hayate found her less frightening this time. Maybe it was because he was not offending her, but a member of the public.

"Well, that is quite enough, Hina," said Aika, coming to Hayate's rescue. "I guess that he won't dare do anything like that any more."

"I seriously hope so," snapped Hinagiku. "Because I won't want to be forced to expel him!"

"What?" asked Hayate and Nagi, both surprised. "Don't be kidding, Hinagiku," said Nagi.

"No, I am not," said Hinagiku. "As the Student Council President, I have the responsibility to protect the reputation of the school. If a student is damaging it, I have the power and responsibility to expel him!"

"No, please don't, Hinagiku-san!" said Hayate, evidently panicked. "I won't do anything like that again…"

"Like I said, I won't want to expel you," said Hinagiku, calming down a bit. "So please behave yourself in the future. Okay?"

"Yes, of course," said Hayate, and he meant it. After all, now that he had proof that Taro wasn't the "real" Silver Red, he would never hold him from behind again. _Never_.

"Hayate, I am thirsty," said Nagi suddenly. "Let's go find a drink or something."

"Of course, milady," said Hayate, relieved that the subject can finally be changed. "How about joining us, Hinagiku-san?"

Hinagiku shook her head. "Thanks for the offer, Hayate-kun," she said. "But we have a Student Council meeting today. The election is coming soon, so we have a lot to do."

"Oh," said Hayate, sounding a bit disappointed. "Then see you tomorrow. You too, Aika-san." Aika beamed.

* * *

"So that man isn't the real Silver Red, huh?" said Nagi, after Hayate had told her his findings. "That's why the signatures are different." She was so disappointed that she threw the signing board away.

"Well, even so, you shouldn't just throw his signature away," said Hayate as he picked up the board. "He is another Silver Red, after all."

"But impostors are not cool!" demanded Nagi.

"Even so, he…" began Hayate, but he was unable to continue his sentence as he felt he was shot at the back. A sense of sheering pain flowed through his body, and he was immediately immobilized. He lost all strength in his limbs and he fell to the ground. He didn't even know what had happened.

"Hayate!" Nagi screamed as she saw her butler falling to the ground, but she was unable to help him, as she was soon grabbed by the neck, and was dragged into a car with her mouth covered. She was kidnapped. Again.

As always, the kidnappers did not tie her up or seal her mouth with tapes, but Nagi was not as calm as usual. This time, she witnessed her butler falling to the ground before being kidnapped, so she was worried – about herself, and about Hayate. They came in equal measures.

"What have you done to Hayate?" she demanded.

"We did our homework, young lady," answered one of the kidnappers. "We know that as long as he is able to move, it is very hard to kidnap you, so we stunned him with an electric pistol."

"What?"

"Don't worry. That boy is too hard to kill. Our guess is that the gun could only stun him for about 10 minutes, but that is enough for us to go far away. He won't be able to catch us." The driver chose this moment to step harder on the accelerator, so the car moved even faster.

"_This is bad, I am in serious trouble this time!_" Nagi thought to herself, but the car had to halt at a red traffic light. "Damn!" swore the driver.

Nagi looked through the window. She saw a familiar mane of pink straight hair. "_This is my chance!_" she thought and stuck out her leg…

* * *

Hinagiku was on the way back to Hakuou Academy with Aika. Suddenly she heard a banging noise from a nearby car. She turned her head to the car and was shocked. She saw Nagi kicking the car door with her leg, while two men were trying to stop her.

"Nagi!" shouted Hinagiku, but the car drove off as the traffic light turned green.

"We have to call the police!" exclaimed Aika.

"That would be too late," said Hinagiku. "I can hunt that car by myself!" With that, she was about to make a dash.

"Wait, you can't go in your school uniform, Hina," said Aika, grabbing Hinagiku by her shoulder. "As you said earlier, you have to think about the damage to the reputation of our school!"

"Then what should I do?" demanded Hinagiku. She did not think that saving her friend from kidnappers would be detrimental to the school's reputation, but she couldn't know what people would think seeing a girl hunting down a car…

"Well, take this," said Aika, handing Hinagiku a small bag. Hinagiku looked into the bag and said: "You are kidding."

Inside the bag, there was the Silver Red costume – of Hinagiku's size.

"There is no time to argue," said Aika, grinning.

Hinagiku thought for a moment, grabbed the bag, and began her run.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3: Never question the ability of a hero to change in an instant**_

The kidnappers were not moving as fast as they would have wanted. If there were anything wrong about their plans to kidnap Nagi, it was the timing: it was 5 pm, and adults started getting off from their work. Transports packed with people were flocking into the streets, slowly but surely causing a traffic jam. The kidnappers could not force their way through – the perception that kidnappers are expert drivers is simply wrong.

As they halted more and more frequently behind cars, the driver swore more and more furiously. They were not getting far away from the park. The 10-minute advantage they built by stunning Hayate was fading. If only he could locate their car…

Nagi wasn't sure if she should count on Hayate to recover in time, or to count on Hinagiku to call the police. She couldn't see if Hayate had already begun chasing after them, but she wasn't sure if Hinagiku had noticed her "signal" either. Nagi wasn't even sure if Hinagiku was reliable. Hinagiku, although in a better position to help her out of the trouble, was not Hayate after all.

The car wasn't moving at all. The world has almost stopped. Nagi felt that she had been in the car for hours…

* * *

Hinagiku dashed into the nearby bushes. The circumstances did not allow her to take off her school uniform, so she simply put the Silver Red costume on top of her school uniform. It was a bit bulky and uncomfortable, but Hinagiku couldn't get picky about it: the most important thing was to save Nagi.

In less than 30 seconds, Silver Red emerged from the bushes. She held out her right arm and yelled: "Come, Shirosakura!"

But there was no response. Silver Red then remembered: the legendary transparent sword had been destroyed in the last battle against Kurotsubaki. To be more specific, Shirosakura sacrificed itself to save the wielder of Kurotsubaki, a boy called Fukada Kyosuke.

Silver Red felt lost, but she also knew that there was no time to be sentimental. She quickly recovered and switched to Plan B: if she was not able to fly to save Nagi, at least she could run.

It wasn't that she wanted to fly in the first place.

"Masamune!" she shouted, and the loyal wooden sword came into her hand immediately. Silver Red felt the energy flowing through her body, thanks to the enhancement given by the sword. She took a deep breath, and began to run as fast as she could. To the naked eye, she was running at lightening speed.

She did not take long to reach the main road, and once she was there she began looking for the car that kidnapped Nagi. Although she only had had a glance at the car, she remembered the car number and colour. And then she found it, stuck helplessly in a big crowd of cars. Silver Red grinned: it was an easy rescue mission.

* * *

The kidnappers were looking anxiously around as they wanted to be moving as soon as possible. Suddenly they heard a knocking noise at the left car door. "What the…" began one of the kidnappers, but he cut himself short. He was thoroughly shocked by the sight of a masked ranger.

Silver Red took advantage of the temporal inability of the kidnappers to act. She broke the window of the car door with Masamune, and dragged the closest kidnapper out of the car. The kidnapper on Nagi's right intended to grab their hostage, but Silver Red moved quickly and hit his hand with a fist. The kidnapper yelped in pain and was forced back. This gave Silver Red the space and time to grab Nagi out of the car, shielding the girl behind her back.

The two remaining kidnappers got out of the car with their stun guns. It wasn't wise to use firearms in front of so many people, but they had no time to worry about anything. If they could not get rid of this masked ranger and flee, they would get caught by the police anyway.

Silver Red seemed to know what was coming. "Get off the road and stay behind that tree!" she told Nagi, pointing at a tree on the pedestrian's road. Nagi nodded and did what Silver Red told her. She peeked from behind the tree, eagerly witnessing her hero in action.

Silver Red turned to the two kidnappers, who were already pointing their stun guns at her. "Don't shoot!" she shouted. "Not when there are so many people around!"

One of the kidnappers snorted and pulled the trigger. He really did not care about hurting innocent people. Silver Red reacted and dodged. She was too fast for the shot, which hit the car behind her instead. With a loud "crack", the windshield of that poor car was reduced to tiny pieces. The driver held her head and screamed, although she did not get hurt.

"Hey!" cried Silver Red, but she did not have time to say anything else, as the other kidnapper took a shot at her as well. The shot missed her again and hit the side of another car.

As the two kidnappers fired shot after shot at Silver Red, she leaped over the top of a truck and stayed low. The poor driver was hit and passed out. As the truck was quite tall the kidnappers could not see her. They both stepped backward in order to seek Silver Red from a wider angle, but to their surprise she was nowhere to be seen. "Where is he?" they asked each other, but there was no answer.

"I am here!" a voice suddenly came from their back. The two kidnappers turned, but they were too late. In a split second, both kidnappers were disarmed, and were knocked to the ground. In front of them, there stood Silver Red, swinging Wooden Masamune casually.

"Who are you?" moaned one of the kidnappers, who could not believe they were so easily beaten by someone with only a wooden blade. Silver Red grabbed the sword tightly, pointing the end at the kidnappers. "I am Silver Red," she said. "The guardian of this district!"

The kidnapper passed out in shock and anger. Of course, there was also the pain.

* * *

"Milady!"

Hayate was finally able to move, and he went looking for Nagi immediately. He soon arrived at the main road, and he was shocked to see the broken cars and injured people. "_Oh no!_" he thought and panicked. "Milady! Where are you?" he shouted in desperation.

"I am here, Hayate!" shouted Nagi, as she emerged from behind, holding the hand of Silver Red. Not only she was fine, but she looked excited with a slightly blushing face and sparkling eyes.

"Milady, sorry for keeping you waiting!" exclaimed Hayate as Nagi ran towards her. "Are you hurt?"

"Hayate, Silver Red was just so amazing!" said Nagi. She might not have answered Hayate's question, but the butler could tell from her expression and voice that she was perfectly fine – or more than that. "He defeated every one of the kidnappers with ease! You know, he might just be as strong as you!"

Hayate beamed – he was not interested in comparing himself with Silver Red, but he did want a few words with her. "Thank you very much, Mr. Silver Red," he said, looking at the hero. "You saved me again."

"It was nothing," said Silver Red with a determinedly deep voice. "I was just passing through."

"But you were passing through as well in Greece," said Hayate. "It is as if you are not only passing through, but have been living around me."

"That… that is not true!" said Silver Red, who had the feeling that Hayate might be picking up hints about her identity. "I am not somebody you know!"

"But you do know Katsura Hinagiku-san, don't you?" said Hayate, pointing at Wooden Masamune. "And you are close enough to her to borrow her weapon."

"No, I…"

"Who are you, Mr. Silver Red?"

"I…"

Silver Red looked desperately for an answer, but she couldn't come up with any. Fortunately, the police cars arrived just in time, which distracted Hayate and Nagi. "Well, see you!" Silver Red leaped backward very quickly while they were not looking at her. Hayate did not even recover in time to stop her.

"Please wait, Mr. Silver Red!" exclaimed Hayate, but Silver Red was already gone.

"Don't push him too hard, Hayate," said Nagi wisely. "Heroes don't like their identity exposed."

Hayate shrugged. "Well, in that case I might just ask Hinagiku-san."

* * *

Silver Red retreated into a nearby public washroom. It took her even shorter to undress and reveal Hinagiku, who was both relieved and miserable – she was relieved because she could take off the suit, but she was miserable because she was sweating heavily and she found herself smell bad.

She emerged from the washroom, threw the Silver Red costume into a rubbish bin and met up with Hayate and Nagi. "Oi! Hayate-kun! Nagi!" she called out to them, trying to sound as casually as she could. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, Hinagiku-san," said Hayate cheerfully. "Thanks for your care."

"Yea, thank you for your help, Hinagiku," said Nagi.

Hinagiku's heart skipped a beat. "I – I did not do anything."

"Yes, you did," said Nagi, bemused. "Didn't you call the police?"

"Oh, that," said Hinagiku, clearly relieved. "Y – yes, I did."

"By the way, do you know Silver Red, Hinagiku-san?" asked Hayate. "I mean, personally."

Hinagiku blushed, but as she was determined to keep this a secret, she knew that there was only one answer.

"No," she said, a little too determinedly. "I do not know him."


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4: You are perfectly fine with the press if you are not the theme of their story**_

The heroics of Silver Red, the masked Ranger, has spread through the community on the next day, thanks to reports from the local press. People were talking about the mysterious hero everywhere, including the prestigious Hakuou Academy.

Although many of the students at the school were highly talented, they were young people – or even children, at the elementary section – whose behaviours were not necessarily different from their more "ordinary" peers. It means that when they talked about the issue, they would like to make their story a bit more exciting than the others in order to amuse the audience. The acts and identity of Silver Red, therefore, had been exaggerated to an unreasonable degree, and by the end of the school day Silver Red had become the leader of a Ranger team who had summoned 5 robots which looked like dinosaurs out of nowhere.

Teachers who had grown up with the Japanese version of Power Rangers, like Kaoru, laughed very hard over the rumours. There had been no attempt to stop the discussion on Silver Red, as apparently it "does not affect their studies", according to the young chairperson, Tennonsu Athena. "The school is aware that the freedom of speech and expression of the students must be protected," she added.

She appeared to be an eager contributor to the rumour as well with the following words: "I must, however, stress on that the discussion must be of quality and reason. For example, it is highly foolish to assume that Silver Red is a male. It could have been a woman with a very flat chest." These words had caused considerable uproar among the students, so now the team of Silver Red varied from a two men team to a team of 12 young girls which was called "Hayata-kun's Harem".

Nobody could find Nagi for a comment: she declared to Hayate and Maria that she had suffered a "mental shock", so she was staying home for a recovery. Maria agreed, because she thought it was a good idea to hide the young lady from the press, who had gathered outside the Sanzen'in Mansion for her comment. They were later chased off by "a huge cat which resembled a white tiger" [sic].

* * *

Hinagiku had also been asked for an opinion on Silver Red as well, and as she repeatedly told everyone that she had no idea what they were talking about, enthusiastic pursuers kept on telling her new versions of the Silver Red myth. The Student Council President had no response other than a very awkward smile.

It took her much longer than usual to get to the Clock Tower and the safety of her office on top of it – although she was constantly worried that the Tower might fall apart. As she entered the elevator, she let out a sigh of relief. For some reason, she found herself extremely exhausted.

New surprise awaited her, however, as she walked out of the elevator. Athena was sitting on a sofa, having tea, apparently waiting for Hinagiku.

"Athena!" exclaimed Hinagiku, with no intention to hide her surprise. "Why are you here?"

Athena rolled her eyes. "To tease you, I suppose?"

Hinagiku fired up at once. "Please stop this nonsense!" she demanded. "What was that? 'It does not affect their studies'? The students are not doing any studies, because they are all talking about Silver Red!"

Athena glued her lips to the tea cup, apparently trying to suppress a laughter.

"And why don't you simply leave everyone alone to assume that Silver Red is a man? Why did you have to raise the point that Silver Red could be a woman? What did you mean by 'it could have been a woman with a very flat chest'?"

Athena couldn't take it any more, and bursted into laughter.

Hinagiku was amused. "Is that really so funny?" she asked.

"You know," said Athena, half-panting, "by the sound of it, you really could have been that Silver Red!"

There was an awkward pause.

"Em… no," began Hinagiku in a defensive tone. "I – I wasn't trying to… well, em…" she failed to finish her sentence as she simply couldn't say "I wasn't trying to say that I am not Silver Red".

Athena rose from the sofa and walked towards Hinagiku. "So, I got it right," she said sweetly. "You really are Silver Red."

Hinagiku knew that she couldn't deny it anymore. "How did you find out?" she asked.

Athena sighed. "Come on. A swordsman like you would never give your swords to anyone," she said. "Well, not to someone who is in a stupid ranger suit. So if that ranger is wielding your swords, then he could only be you."

Hinagiku said nothing.

"Although, that makes it even more curious that you indeed lent your wooden sword to Hayate," Athena added as she glared at Hinagiku.

"W – well, it was not my sword to begin with," admitted Hinagiku. "And Hayate-kun was dying, so…"

"Hmm…" said Athena, with no more further comment.

There was another awkward pause.

"Say something, please," said Hinagiku finally, after a long moment of silence. "Don't you have anything else to say?"

"Well yes, I do," said Athena, much to Hinagiku's relieve. "So why are you wearing that costume? Are your fashion sense that bad?"

Hinagiku sighed. "It is a long story…"

"Then make it short," said Athena, interrupting Hinagiku. "Just tell me why you chose to go after the kidnappers in that suit."

"Well, I can't harm the image of myself or the school," said Hinagiku. "There's the Student Council election coming. I don't think people like seeing me chasing criminals like a mad girl… or something."

Athena thought for a moment. "I guess you have a point," she said. "But I think you could be making a mistake."

"What do you mean?" asked Hinagiku.

"Well, put it this way," said Athena. "If you choose not to face situations like this with your true identity, you will never be able to tell the truth anymore. Your enemies will make sure they take full advantage of your inability to tell the truth regarding yourself."

"I don't see I have made many enemies in this school," said Hinagiku, shaking her head.

"I have made my point, and it is up to you to decide whether you want to believe me," said Athena. "However, if things turn out like I have predicted, remind me to tell you that 'I told you so'."

* * *

Taro was having a very bad time. The press had finally traced Silver Red back to the stage show, where they found Taro rehearsing a fighting scene. The rehearsal was cut short as Taro was surrounded by microphones, cameras and questions from the reporters.

"Look, it wasn't me!" he tried to explain himself for the n-th time, after the reporters kept asking him the same question for the n-th time. "I don't wield a sword, I don't have that crazy physical abilities and I don't have gun fights in a crowded area! It just wasn't me!"

"So who was that? Why is he wearing your suit? Do you know him?" barked the reporters, who still had a million questions for Taro.

"I don't know him! I don't know anything!" exclaimed Taro. "Why don't you people go and ask Hakuou Academy? They have a girl in pink hair – I heard she is the President – who acted as Silver Red as well! Maybe she has borrowed her costume to whoever you are looking for!"


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5: If you don't want to be famous, the press will make you infamous**_

Nagi was not impressed by the night's news roundup.

"Journalism is dead, Hayate," she said, while playing with her PSP on a sofa. Her eyes have never left the gaming device, so apparently she had only listened to the news with her ears.

"What do you mean, milady?" asked Hayate, who was serving milk to Nagi. It was late at night, so Hayate was counting on the cup of milk to get Nagi sleeping.

"What they choose to make into news reports is absolutely rubbish," answered Nagi, sitting up. "Here we have a kidnap case, and all the press cares about is the true identity of the one who saved me? What about the stories of the kidnappers? What about the feelings of the victim?"

"It sounds like you are unhappy that you are not having an interview with the reporters, milady," said Hayate. "If you so desire to make it onto the newspaper, we definitely could arrange that for you."

"I – idiot! It's not like that!" shouted Nagi, who suddenly blushed furiously. "Who wants that kind of attention? Just look at that guy" – she pointed at a very desperate Taro on the TV – "He is nothing short of an idiot, isn't he?"

"I don't think you should call him an idiot, milady," said Hayate, "He is Sil -"

"He is NOT Silver Red!" shouted Nagi, before Hayate could complete his sentence. "He is an impostor and he is not cool! And he is an idiot by trying to suggest that Hinagiku is Silver Red!"

"So you think that Hinagiku-san isn't Silver Red?" asked Hayate. "What makes you think so, milady?" He actually had his own theory, but for some reason he wanted some support from the others, especially someone as intelligent as his lady.

"As I have said before, it is impossible for a girl to play Silver Red," said Nagi, a little bit impatiently. She simply did not understand why Hayate and the press failed to see this. "The chest of a girl would be so noticeable that it is impossible for her to act a guy's role in tights. Unless, of course, the girl has a very flat chest!"

"Hinagiku-san does have a very flat chest," said Hayate, as if pointing out a very obvious fact.

There was a long pause as Nagi did not know what to say.

"You wanna die?" she asked finally.

"Well, I am not telling her that in person," said Hayate defensively.

"Anyway," said Nagi with a sigh, "It seems that Hinagiku would have a very bad day at school tomorrow."

"What do you mean, milady?"

Nagi pointed at the TV again. "Just look at those reporters. Do you think they would let Hinagiku go easily, now that this idiot has shown them another way for an interesting story?"

* * *

Hinagiku was not happy with the night's news roundup either.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed as she was sitting on the sofa, watching TV. "What was he doing?"

"Maybe he was telling the truth," said Mrs. Katsura as she sat next to Hinagiku. "So tell me, Hina-chan: was he?"

"Well, that…" Hinagiku began, hesitating. She didn't want to tell the truth, but she was equally unwilling to lie to her foster mother. After minutes of internal struggles, she let out a sigh. "Alright, alright. It was me."

Mrs. Katsura wolf-whistled. "Cool!" she added.

"It was't cool!" said Hinagiku, annoyed. "But I had no choice. I had to dress like that."

"Why?"asked Mrs. Katsura. "Why are you hiding your true identity when you do such wonderful things?"

"It wasn't wonderful at all, mom," said Hinagiku. "I was beating up people. I made a mess of the main road. I simply don't think that is the proper behaviour of the Student Council President of Hakuou Academy."

"Not proper, huh," repeated Mrs. Katsura, thoughtfully. "Of course people may not like the sight of ordinary cute girls beating up bad guy, but they do not have a problem seeing masked heroes doing the same thing. Isn't this weird, Hina-chan?"

"Well, that's why I have to put on a mask after all," said Hinagiku with a heavy sigh. "It's better for people to talk about the heroics of Silver Red, instead of the improper behaviours of mine."

"Even so, that man on the TV has already told the press that you are Silver Red, how are you going to deal with them?" asked Mrs. Katsura. "Even if they don't kick on our front door, they will be waiting for you at school."

Hinagiku looked at the TV, on which Taro's face was shown pressed upon by microphones and cameras.

"I have no idea, mom," she said finally.

* * *

As Hinagiku woke up the next morning, the first thing she did was to look out of the window. To her delight, nobody was gathering outside of her house. Apparently the reporters were not awake this early. Hinagiku decided to skip the jogging this morning, and headed straight back to school instead. Hopefully she could make it to safety before getting caught.

As she was two blocks away from school, Hinagiku saw from a distance that there were a few people in front of the school gate. She immediately retreated into a nearby alley, her back pressed against the wall.

"_T – that was close!_" she thought to herself. "_I never thought that they would be waiting for me at school instead of my home. Come to think of it, I am now out of my own 'nest' and have nowhere to go if I am caught. You are such a fool, Hinagiku!_"

She did not dare leaving the alley, but she also knew that she could not stay there forever. The longer she got stuck in the alley, the more likely she was finally got caught by the reporters – or any curious member of the public, for the matter. "_What do I do? What do I do?_" she kept asking herself the same question, but no answer had come to her mind.

She was peeking at the main road again – more and more reporters had already arrived – when suddenly she heard the car horn from behind. "I am sorry," she said without turning back to look at the car, "but I am not blocking your way. Please go ahead."

But then she heard the car horn again. "What is it?" she demanded impatiently as she turned her head. To her surprise, she found Suirenji Ruka waving her hand out of the car window. "Good morning, Hina!"

"Ruka!" exclaimed Hinagiku as she walked towards the popular idol. "Good morning. Why are you here?"

"I am on my way to the TV studio. I have an early show today." said Ruka brightly. "What about you, Hina? I see that you are in trouble, huh?"

"Well, yes," said Hinagiku with a sigh. "I guess you already know."

"Of course," said Ruka, nodding. "You have become famous, Hina. You made the front page of the newspapers. I envy you."

She handed Hinagiku a copy of the newspaper, which the headline read: "THE HERO UNMASKED: THE PRETTY STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT?"

"Oh no!" Hinagiku exclaimed as she threw the newspaper back to Ruka, who missed her catch and the paper hit her in the face. "What kind of nonsense is this?"

"This is what the press do," said Ruka wisely, while rubbing her face. "Deal with it."

"Well, how do I deal with it when they are blocking my way to school?" demanded Hinagiku.

"No, they are not," said Ruka. "They only want you to answer their questions, and they will let you go."

"But what if I do not want to give them the answers?"

Ruka rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me…" she began.

"I am not implying anything!" said Hinagiku loudly, interrupting Ruka.

"That's it!" said Ruka, pointing her finger at Hinagiku. "If you don't want to answer any question, just say 'no comment' as you force your way into the school campus. They do not dare crossing into the school, so once you set foot in the school gate, you win."

Hinagiku sighed again. "This is easier to say than do," she said.

Ruka thought for a moment. "Well, I think it would be better if you have someone to escort you, forcing the way through the crowd for you…"

"Then I will be doing it!" said a voice in front of them. Hinagiku and Ruka both looked up and see a person with blue hair.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6: Hayate is not the only character with blue hair, you know**_

Hinagiku turned to greet the person in blue hair. It was Hanabishi Miki, her best childhood friend.

"Miki!" said Hinagiku. "Morning. You are early."

"Good morning, Hina," replied Miki. "As you well know, I often come to school early as well."

"_So I can have a few moments alone with you,_" she added in her head.

"Oh, I never knew that you were as hard-working as Hina," Ruka called out brightly. "As expected of Hina's friend."

Miki blushed slightly as she was embarrassed by Ruka's praise, which she knew well that she did not deserve. "I – it's not that, really," she said. Upon recovering, she then added: "Oh by the way, good morning, Ruka! I didn't see you." The change in subject was so shrewd and natural that both Hinagiku and Ruka paid no attention to her initial embarrassment.

"Good morning," replied Ruka, beaming. "You can help Hina getting into the school without being trapped by the reporters, you said?"

"Oh yes I can," said Miki proudly. "As the granddaughter of the former Prime Minister, and the daughter of a politician, I only know too well how to deal with annoying reporters. Besides…" – she tapped her fingers, and two men in black appear out of nowhere – "… I have SPs as well. They can force the way into the school for us."

"Very good!" said Ruka as she nodded in approval. "This should do. You should have nothing to worry about, Hina."

"Well, I hope so…" said Hinagiku, a little uncertainly.

"Hina, just trust me," said Ruka firmly. "Once you get into the school safely, and as long as you keep yourself out of trouble, the reporters will forget about you in about… well, two days."

"Two days," repeated Hinagiku. So she still have 48 hours to endure…

"Well, start worrying about those two days after you set foot in the school," said Ruka as she put on a pair of sunglasses. "And remember, stay out of trouble, Hina."

With that, she said goodbye to Hinagiku and Miki, and told her manager, Atsumari, to drive on.

Hinagiku and Miki watched as Ruka's car disappeared from their sight. "So, are you ready, Hina?" said Miki as she took Hinagiku's hand.

Hinagiku sighed. "We are going even if I am not ready, right?" she asked.

* * *

The reporters, who were poaching outside Hakuou Academy, suddenly smelt blood as they saw a pink-haired girl in Hakuou school uniform walking towards them – Miki and the two SPs were mysteriously ignored. Cameras were ready, recording pens were taken out, and flashes began to shine once Hinagiku was "in range".

"Oh God," whispered Hinagiku as she was blinded by the non-stopping flashes. "Now I know why Ruka needed her sunglasses."

"Quiet, Hina!" hissed Miki as the recording pens began reaching for Hinagiku's face. "Not one more sound! Got it?"

Hinagiku nodded.

Once the reporters were sure that Hinagiku's voice could be captured by the recording devices, the reporters began firing questions:

"Good morning, Katsura-san!" This was not a question so Hinagiku felt it okay to reply to with a (weak) smile.

"Do you know Kendo, Katsura-san?" This was a remote question, but Hinagiku sensed danger in it, so she did not reply.

"Where have you been yesterday. Katsura-san?" This was close to police interrogation, so Hinagiku refused to reply.

"Silver Red said that you are the true Silver Red, is it true, Katsura-san?" Hinagiku said nothing.

"Do you know Silver Red?" No reply.

"Do you like wearing male's clothes?" Hinagiku halted – this question was going too far, and she wanted to make a retort to it. Miki, however, squeezed her hand, and Hinagiku knew that she had to keep walking, ignoring the comment.

"You are holding hands with a girl, Katsura-san! Are you going out with her? Does it justify your preference of wearing male clothes?" This time Miki blushed, but she knew better than to make any comment other than "Move away, please!"

"Katsura-san! Katsura-san!" Many, many more name-callings, but there was no response.

The two SPs did their best to shield the girls from the reporters and their device as they slowly but certainly opened up the path for Hinagiku to get into school. Once or twice they went into confrontations with the reporters, but they forcefully but professionally told the reporters off. They were so experienced in protecting important people that the reporters knew exactly that they were not to be messed with.

Still, it took them over 30 minutes to finally send Hinagiku and Miki behind the school gate. The school guards immediately took over the duty to protect the two girls, but it did not seem necessary any more – just as Ruka predicted, the reporters did not dare setting their feet into the school campus. A few warnings from the school guards did help. With an (almost) empty school campus all to themselves, Hinagiku and Miki disappeared from the reporters' sight very quickly. The poor reporters could only keep yelling "Katsura-san! Katsura-san!" to no avail.

Hinagiku never appreciated the silence of her school early in the morning, but this time she almost felt that she was in Heaven. She let out a sigh of relief, and turned to smile at Miki. "Thank you so much, Miki," she said, holding Miki's hand a little more firmly. "I owe you one."

"Well, you really do owe me one," said Miki will a mischievous grin. "So…"

She pressed her lips on Hinagiku's left cheek. Both girls blushed furiously at once.

"Miki!" gasped Hinagiku.

"This is my reward for helping you get into the school campus safely," said Miki. "You are safe for now, Hina. Just stay out of trouble." And then she skipped away, very joyfully.

Hinagiku watched her go. "Stay out of trouble… huh?" she whispered.

* * *

After school, Athena visited Hinagiku at the Student Council Room. To Hinagiku's amusement, Athena turned on the television, which happened to be showing the hourly news report. "Katsura Hinagiku-san denied a comment on the rumour that she is Silver Red," said the news announcer. Seconds later, a video clip of Hinagiku being escorted into the school campus was shown. She looked much better than poor Taro, to say the least.

"So," said Athena as she muted the television, "you know that I am here to show this news clip to you."

"Perfect timing," replied Hinagiku. The thing that Athena turned on the television exactly as the news started was some achievement.

"This is not about me," said Athena, "but you."

"Me?"

"It appears that you have got some very good advices," said Athena. "Professional personnel, professional attitude, nice outcome. The people next to and behind you are… good."

"As expected of Miki's family," said Hinagiku. There was no point to hide anything from Athena, anyway. "She is from a family of politicians."

"I am well aware of that," said Athena. "Which means that I am right to say that you are allowing politics to get into this issue."

Hinagiku stood up. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Calm down. I am not accusing you of this," said Athena, gesturing Hinagiku to sit down. "It is just that I feel there is something wrong with your approach of handling this matter."

"And you said that it isn't an accusation," said Hinagiku as she sat down.

"No," said Athena as she shook her head. "You haven't done anything wrong. In fact, it is so well done that you can be sure that the reputation – of yourself and of the school – is not harmed."

Hinagiku said nothing.

"Still," continued Athena, "I think that you have not done it very right."

"So I haven't done it wrong, but I haven't done it right," repeated Hinagiku.

"Pretty much, yes," replied Athena.

"Enlighten me," said Hinagiku. She simply had no idea what Athena was talking about.

"You know, the way we interact with the press isn't just about an answer, but about how we look at the matter in our hands. And this is a one-way path: once you have chosen a specific way to take on the matter with the press, you can never turn back unless you are ready for some serious consequences."

"Like…?"

"Integrity. If your integrity is called into question, I think even a public apology couldn't save you. Honestly, who is to believe the apology of a liar?"

"But I did not lie!" said Hinagiku defensively.

"But you did not give them the truth either," said Athena. "You have decided that it is right to handle this with the political way, which also means that you have decided not to be outright honest. So in a sense you are even worse than that idiot from yesterday. At least he was being honest!"

"I…" began Hinagiku, but she could not complete her sentence. She really had no response to Athena's claim that she was not being honest. But then, what else could she do? Telling everyone that she was Silver Red?

Still, she knew that it would be a lousy and childish argument, so she did not bring it up. If there was one thing she had learnt from the day's experience, it was that there were times you simply have to keep your mouth shut.

"Anyway," Athena went on, ignoring Hinagiku's attempt and subsequent hesitation to retort, "it is your choice, and no apparent harm has done yet. Just stay out of trouble and…" she broke off as she saw something on the television. There was a breaking news that a family restaurant was being robbed, and several customers were being held hostages.

"What is it, Athena?" asked Hinagiku, but she did not need a reply: she could see the news for herself.

"Just tell me you are not going to help this time," demanded Athena.

"Why? I – "

"Stay out of trouble, remember?" said Athena. "You don't want the reporters to come to – oh my God!"

Hinagiku knew what Athena was shouting about. She also saw in the corner of the television a boy in butler suit. It was Hayate, who was outside the family restaurant, looking very worried. Apparently he was in trouble again…


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7: You would be very happy when your long-unused skill doesn't become rusty**_

It had all begun a few moments ago in Deathny's Restaurant. Two young girls – one with short hair, and one with very long hair and a kimono – had just arrived.

"So, tell me, Isumi-san," said Aizawa Sakuya, "why did Nagi invite you to this restaurant?"

"Nagi wants to give me a copy of her new manga," said Saginomiya Isumi, who had the habit of covering her mouth with her sleeve. "She wants me to comment on it, and give her some new ideas as well. Of course, I will study her manga and come up with a better one to beat her next time!"

"I think you should give up on this," said Sakuya. "Honestly, she has had a successful Comiket under her belt, but what do you have?"

"I don't care what she has done before," said Isumi calmly. "Each competition is a new competition, so no matter how successful she was last time, it has nothing to do with my chances of winning this time."

"I admire your spirit, but I think you are missing the point," said Sakuya as she sighed. "Anyway, just make it quick. I am not staying here for long."

"That begs the question: why are you here?" asked Isumi. "You are not needed here. I can meet up with Nagi myself."

Sakuya stood up. "If I am not with you," she hissed, "you wouldn't even be able to come to this restaurant! If I am not with you, you won't be able to find the way home! So why else do you think that I am here?"

"Sakuya, could you call Nagi and tell her that we have arrived?" asked Isumi, apparently trying to change the subject. "You know, I am not too good with iPhones."

Sakuya grabbed her own cellphone. "If you don't know how to use an iPhone, then you are truly hopeless."

Sakuya was calling Nagi when she heard a loud bang at the entrance. A moment later, she heard a female voice screaming: "What are you doing, sir? No!"

"What is happening out there?" Sakuya muttered to herself, but as she turned her head to the entrance, she was shocked: two men wearing masks were entering the restaurant, both of them holding guns. This only meant one thing: robbery.

"Everybody don't move!" shouted one of the men. "We now have control of this restaurant! Stay where you and give up all your property!"

"This is no good," whispered Sakuya. "Can you do something, Isumi-san?"

There was no response.

"Isumi-san?" repeated Sakuya, this time a little louder. There was still no response. Sakuya turned back to find Isumi, but to her horror, Isumi was nowhere to be seen. She was, apparently, gone.

"How is she able to disappear from within a restaurant?" exclaimed Sakuya.

* * *

"What? Sakuya-san is held hostage in the restaurant?"

Hayate could not believe his ears as Nagi told him what had happened. They were two blocks away from the restaurant when Nagi picked up the call from Sakuya, who briefly told her about the robbery.

"Yes, you heard me," replied Nagi. "You need to save Sakuya, Hayate. Then bring her to our home."

Hayate hesitated. "But what about you, milady?" he asked. "Surely someone must escort you home?"

"Not to worry," said Nagi. "I have told Maria to pick me up. Look, there she is."

Hayate turned and saw Maria coming, with her shopping bag in her hands. "Before you ask, Hayate-kun," she said, "I was shopping for tonight's dinner nearby, so I have come quickly after receiving Nagi's call."

"Ha…" replied Hayate as he did not really have anything to say.

"So, I am in good hands, Hayate," said Nagi. "Go and save Sakuya."

Hayate knew there was only one thing he could do. "Understood," he answered with a bow. "Please leave it to me."

As he watched Nagi and Maria go, however, Hayate began to worry. The police had set up a blockade around the restaurant, but they were doing nothing. An inspector was telling his subordinates to tell who the robbers were by their "aura". Other than that, they were not doing anything. Hayate could tell that he could not rely on the police to help him.

"How am I supposed to save Sakuya-san?" he asked himself.

News reporters had also arrived at the scene reporting the breaking news, and it was when Hayate was caught on the camera.

* * *

"Hayate-kun!" exclaimed Hinagiku as she saw Hayate on the TV, clearly panicking. She then turned to Athena. "Whatever you may say, I am going," she said, her eyes full of determination.

"Hinagiku…" Athena began, but she already knew that it would be a very difficult job trying to convince Hinagiku not to go. "Try to be reasonable, please. The cops have already arrived at the scene. Whatever trouble Hayate is in, everything would be all right. Okay?"

Hinagiku shook her head. "My experience suggests otherwise," she said. "The last time Hayate-kun was involved in a robbery in a restaurant, the police was almost unable to do anything! They couldn't even stop me getting into the restaurant, and they did not take action until the robber agreed to turn himself in!"

Athena said nothing.

"The police won't be helpful to Hayate-kun," said Hinagiku. "I have to do it myself."

"But…" said Athena weakly, "you have to stay out of trouble…"

"I will stay out of trouble," said Hinagiku as she grabbed a bag – Athena could see something like a helmet popping out of the bag. "Well, at least I'll try."

With that, Hinagiku stormed out of the Student Council Room. Athena slumped into Hinagiku's chair. "Where does she hide her costume?" she muttered to herself.

* * *

Hayate was trying to picture what it looked like in the restaurant. He had been here before, and according to his memory, there was no such thing as a secret passage for him to sneak into the restaurant without drawing the attention of the robbers.

Suddenly, he felt someone tapping on his shoulder. He turned and see a masked Ranger.

"Mr. Silver Red!" he exclaimed, half-shocked and half-relieved.

"You are in trouble again, Ha – Ayasaki-kun," said Silver Red, relieved that she had recovered from a verbal blunder, but then…

"How do you know my name?" asked Hayate. "I don't remember telling you my name, Mr. Silver Red."

"W – well, I am Silver Red, so I know everything about this district!" said Silver Red, who was silently praying that Hayate was stupid enough to believe in her.

"O – okay," said Hayate, although not entirely convinced.

"Anyway, what is happening here?" asked Silver Red. "Is Nagi kidnapped or something?"

Hayate glared at her. "You just said you know everything," he asked suspiciously.

"Ah, you are so annoying! Just tell me, won't you?"

"I – it is Sakuya-san, she is held hostage in the restaurant," Hayate replied, although he somehow found the attitudes of Silver Red familiar. "Sakuya-san is the cousin of milady, so I have to save her. Well, you probably know about it already."

"So, do you have a plan to save the girl?" asked Silver Red, ignoring Hayate's last words. "I thought you have your special move, right?"

Hayate shook his head. "It is too risky," he said. "There are at least two robbers inside the restaurant. Even if I could grab Sakuya-san from these men, we could get shot in the back by anyone of them if they recover in time."

He turned to Silver Red. "I'll need a distraction," he said.

"And an eyeball?" asked Silver Red.

* * *

The two robbers were busy guarding the front door. They knew that they could not allow the police to break into the restaurant, or they would be doomed. Suddenly, they both heard a loud bang. The robbers turned and saw a masked Ranger standing on the back door, which was just knocked down by her.

"Who the Hell are you?" demanded one of the robbers.

"Me? I am…" began Silver Red, as she proceeded to perform a series of awkward posturing which resembled those by Sailor Moon, "… for love and justice! The mighty heroine – no, hero – in tights! Silver Red!"

Her performance was so lame that there was a prolonged moment of silence. Sakuya had a great urge to jump up and hit Silver Red with a harisen, but she was too scared of the robbers that she did not move.

"So… in what name do you punish us?" mocked one of the robbers, who lowered his gun.

"Well, that…" began Silver Red, but she had no idea what to say next. Surely she couldn't say that she would punish them in the name of the Moon, right?

As Silver Red struggled for an answer, the windows began to vibrate, as if the whole restaurant was hit by a hurricane. The vibration became more and more vigorous, and the windows began to crack one by one. Obviously, something serious was coming.

"What… what is going on here?" asked the robbers as they nervously looked around. Then there was a loud bang: this time it was the front door, and it was reduced to pieces. A black shadow zoomed into the restaurant at top speed.

There came a voice: "Just like the wind – HAYATE NO GOTOKU!". A wind storm then blew all movable objects away, even uprooting one or two tables. The black shadow then dashed towards Sakuya, who was about to scream, and grabbed her.

"Indebted butler!" exclaimed Sakuya as she looked up and saw Hayate, who was so focused on his special move that he looked very serious and did not speak.

"Don't move!" shouted one of the robbers as he recovered from the storm, pulled out his gun and pointed at Hayate. Silver Red quickly came in and – "Masamune!" – she smashed the gun with the wooden blade. She then turned and kicked at the robber, sending him fly into his partner. Both men were knocked unconscious.

"Well, I punished you in the name of the wind!" she declared.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8: Apparently the police think that heroes are easier to catch**_

The police had been watching everything through CCTV until the "hurricane" broke into the restaurant and destroyed the cameras. Once the "hurricane" was gone, the police finally decided that it was time to move and catch the robbers. There was no resistance from the robbers at all – both men were barely conscious when they were arrested. The other customers, who were held hostages, were all scared to death and required attention – some medical, some psychological, and some both.

Hayate and Silver Red escorted Sakuya out of the spotlight as they moved away from the police blockade. Sakuya let out a particularly big sigh of relieve when Hayate set her on feet.

"That was really horrible!" she exclaimed, her heart still beating very fast. "Many thanks to you, In – I mean, Hayate!" she added with a smile.

Hayate bowed to her. "It is my honour, Sakuya-san," he said. "I am very pleased that you are unharmed."

"Right, thank you," said Sakuya brightly. She then turned and saw Silver Red, and was pleasantly surprised. "Oh, it's you! Long time no see, Stu – "

Silver Red cleared her throat very loudly. Sakuya felt a small killing intent in Silver Red's voice.

"I mean, Silver Red," said Sakuya shrewdly. "It is another busy day for you!"

Hayate became curious. "Do you know Mr. Silver Red, Sakuya-san?"

"Oh yes, he fought the monsters alongside Isumi-san's grandmother before coming to rescue you," said Sakuya. "And I was there to witness the whole thing," she added proudly.

"So how did you know that everyone was in trouble, Mr. Silver Red?" asked Hayate. "It was in Athens."

"I – I was just passing through," said Silver Red, trying to think on her feet of an excuse. "I can fly, you know, and I was buying hamburger steak…"

She cut herself short as she realised she had made a huge mistake.

"You flew to Athens… to buy hamburger steak?" repeated Hayate, totally amused.

"W- well, they make the best steak!" answered Silver Red, rather helplessly.

Hayate was about to ask another question when Sakuya interfered. "All right, enough of this," she said. "I don't want to stand here doing nothing when you two talk. So what do I do now, Hayate?"

"Oh yes," replied Hayate, recalling what Nagi had told him. "Milady would like you to meet her at our Mansion."

"Well, in that case I have to call for a car," said Sakuya as she reached for her cellphone. "Do you need a ride?"

"No thanks, I have my bike with me," said Hayate as he padded on his bicycle.

"And what about you, Silver Red?"

Silver Red was about to reject when suddenly a bright spotlight came upon her. She turned her head and to her shock, she saw the police lining up, apparently ready to arrest her. A police inspector then announced with a loud speaker! "You are under arrest, Silver Red. Put your hands on the back of your head and stay down!"

"On what charges?" demanded Silver Red.

"Property damages to a whole restaurant and injuries to five people," answered the inspector.

"Hang on a moment, please!" shouted Hayate as he stepped up. "It was me who did the damages. Please leave Mr. Silver Red alone."

"There is no need to take the blame for him, boy!" said the inspector. "I can see that he is threatening you, but there is no need to be afraid, we will rescue you and the young lady."

"What do you mean, 'threatened'? I am not – "

"Enough of this, Ayasaki-kun!" said Silver Red suddenly, interrupting Hayate.

Hayate was shocked. "What do you mean…?" he asked. He did not understand why she was stopping him from telling the truth. Silver Red, though, had a thought: this had nothing to do with the truth within the restaurant when the police was putting the blame on her. Apparently they were certain that they had enough evidence to prosecute her, and she knew that she did not have a proper defence: she did damage the back door, after all. The only thing she could do now would be…

"Ayasaki-kun, do me a favour and lend me your bicycle!" she said desperately to Hayate, although she did not know if she could outrun the police vehicles on a bicycle. She did not even wait for Hayate's answer before grabbing his bicycle. "I will return this later today!" she added, and by the next moment she was gone at top speed.

"Please wait, Mr. Silver Red!" exclaimed Hayate, but as he took a step forward, he suddenly collapsed.

"Are you all right, Hayate?" asked Sakuya as she came forward and checked on him.

"I – I am all right," answered Hayate weakly. "I just forgot that after using my special move, I would be so exhausted that I collapse."

Sakuya sighed. "Then you have no choice but take a ride on my car."

* * *

Athena was watching television in her office when her favourite anime – one she began to follow since her last month at the Violet Mansion – was replaced by "Breaking News". She was about to curse the arrangement when she heard from the news announcer that Silver Red was being chased by the police in mid-town.

"What is she doing?" exclaimed Athena in utter disbelief at the sight that Silver Red was cycling through the roads, closely followed by five to seven police cars and motorcycles.

Athena shook her head. She knew that Silver Red would finally got caught.

"Machina!' she called, and her loyal butler appeared at once.

"What can I do for you, Athena?"

* * *

Silver Red was riding as fast as she could, but she still heard the sirens behind her. Once or twice the police warned her to stop through loud speakers, but she knew that she had gone too far to stop. Once she had started running from them, she could never stop before she got rid of them.

She couldn't pay too much attention to the sirens either. Right before her were cars, trucks and pedestrians who were also using the roads. She had to concentrate on zooming right and left to avoid hitting anyone or anything. One mistake could be fatal.

Suddenly, she spotted a narrow lane between two buildings to her left. "God bless me!" she whispered, and turned left to enter the lane. It was just a little more than enough for her bicycle to pass through, but so was it for the police motorcycles – she could hear their engines behind her, although they had to slow down for fear of hitting the walls beside them.

Silver Red was secretly happy for finally losing the police until she heard a gun shot. A little shock came beneath her tires, almost knocking her off the bicycle. Silver Red gasped – she knew that it was a very close miss. She had no choice but to speed up, but the next moment the front tire tripped over a glass bottle, sending Silver Red and the bicycle flying. Both fell onto the ground heavily, and Silver Red almost felt like her body was torn apart.

Silver Red was on the way – very slowly – to pick up the bicycle when police vehicles gathered and blocked both ends of the lane. She was trapped. Panting heavily, she knew that her run was over. Police officers came out of their vehicles with their guns in hands. "Don't move!" they shouted. "Surrender now!"

"_This is the end of me,_" Silver Red thought to herself. She slowly raised her hands behind her head, and then…

"ARHHH!" shouted one of the officers in front of Silver Red as he was sent flying into the air. The other officers all looked back to see what happened, but they were knocked into one side of the wall. A dark and large shadow then zoomed over Silver Red and took out the officers at the other side of the lane. There were screams and yelps of pain everywhere, soon followed by the sounds of metal crushing.

Silver Red did not know what happened, but she realised it was a great chance for her to try to escape. "Masamune!" she cried as she summoned the wooden sword. The enhancement from the sword made her felt a lot better. The pain was gone, and her body a lot lighter – she could now move.

Silver Red picked up the bicycle, which luckily was not heavily damaged. She starting paddling out of the lane when she saw a horrifying scene: a huge serpent was crushing police vehicles all over the place, sending people hiding and screaming. Police officers were firing their guns at the serpent to no avail. Knowing that it was not a place to stay, Silver Red headed off.

* * *

It was 20:30. Hinagiku appeared at the Sanzen'in Mansion, Hayate's bicycle with her. She pressed the door bell, but instead of the usually kind greeting from Hayate, what she heard was his voice bellowing: "Haven't you asked enough questions, officer?"

"N – no, it's me, Hinagiku," she answered, frightened and weak. She had never heard Hayate talking to her like that – although she knew that he was not talking to her.

"O – oh, I am very sorry, Hinagiku-san," answered Hayate, this time the usual kind tone. "Do you want something?"

"No, actually I have something for you. Could you please come to the main gate?"

Moments later, Hinagiku saw Hayate rushing towards the main gate. Usually she felt warm whenever she saw him, and she would want to spend as much time with him as possible, but this time – for some reason – she just wanted to get her things done, and then be gone.

"Hello, Hinagiku-san!" said Hayate, beaming. "What do you have – oh, is that my bike?"

"Yes," said Hinagiku as she handed the vehicle over to him. "This is why I came, to return this to you."

"Why is my bike with you, Hinagiku-san? I lent it to Mr. Silver Red."

"Yes, and he came to me and asked me to return it to you," said Hinagiku, a little disinterested.

"I see…" said Hayate. He looked at Hinagiku as he was about to thank her, but he suddenly realised something was wrong with her. "Hinagiku-san, why do you have bandages over your arms? Are you injured?"

Indeed Hinagiku had bandages over both her forearms, her right wrist, and – Hayate could not see them as they were hidden by her socks – both her knees. Even by Hinagiku's own standards, she was quite seriously hurt. What's more, her left eye was blackened, her school uniform was torn by the collar, and she was covered in sweat. She was in a huge mess.

"What happened?" asked Hayate as he carefully took her right hand.

"I – I just fell," answered Hinagiku, which strictly speaking wasn't a lie, as she pulled her hand back. "And what happened to you? Were you troubled by the police or something?"

"Well," said Hayate with a heavy sigh, "I… got into some troubles this afternoon, and the police had a lot of questions for me."

"Why?"

"The police thought that I was also kidnapped by Mr. Silver Red, so they came and interrogated me," said Hayate heavily. "From what he looked like to the details of my bicycle, they questioned me for over two hours. It was so exhausting."

"I am sorry, Hayate-kun…"

"No, no, it has nothing to do with you, Hinagiku-san," said Hayate, who was honestly surprised that Hinagiku was apologising for something that she was not involved. "You look tired. Please take more rest at home, and do not let water touches your wounds."

Hinagiku nodded, feeling the warmth of his caring words, but somehow she felt guilty.

"Let me escort you home, Hinagiku-san," Hayate volunteered, which made Hinagiku felt even more unworthy.

"No, thanks, Hayate-kun, I have come with a taxi," she said, pointing her thumb to the taxi behind her, which was indeed standing by. "Please go and take care of Nagi. And… you need more rest as well."

"Understood, Hinagiku-san. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah."

As the butler turned his back on her, Hinagiku found that she could no longer hold her tears, which began to run down her cheeks.

"I am sorry, Hayate-kun," she whispered. "It was me. It was me who gave all these troubles to you."


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9: Speaking of voting, remember to vote on which side you support in the Comiket!**_

The sun rose again, but Hinagiku did not feel like having a new day.

At least it was what she first thought as she went to school. Reporters were once again gathered in front of the school entrance. Miki once again escorted her into the school. The only two differences were that new questions had been asked ("How did you get hurt, Katsura-san?" "Is that because what you have done as Silver Red?"), and that Miki did not kiss her on the cheek this time. Oddly, Hinagiku felt that the lack of such a kiss was a loss.

More new things happened as she went into the Student Council Room. The owner of Deathney's appeared in the morning news, complaining that his restaurant was heavily damaged and he would like Silver Red to "pay for it". Hinagiku had no idea whether the owner wanted her to pay in money or karma.

Next up on the news was that the police had issued a warranty against Silver Red. A police spokesman explained that they wished to bring Silver Red in for property damages to Deathney's, as well as assaults on police officers and vehicles. Hinagiku did not recall landing a single fist on an officer, but then she also realized that the police would be happy to accuse her instead of the serpent – there is simply no way to prosecute a reptile, after all.

She had no idea how the police would track down Silver Red, but she did expect them to come for her soon enough – the media found her, so would the police. She was not particularly worried: they needed solid evidence to prove that she indeed was Silver Red. Before they could show any evidence, she was determined to deny that claim.

Suddenly, Hiangiku heard a knock on the door. She quickly turned off the television and called: "Come in please!"

The door opened and in came Harukaze Chiharu, the secretary of the Student Council. Some would argue that Chiharu was Hinagiku's secretary, but both girls never thought it this way – they thought they were friends.

"Morning, Hina," said Chiharu as she handed a piece of paper to Hinagiku. "We have a Student Council meeting after school today. Here's your copy of the agenda."

"Thanks, Chiharu," said Hinagiku as she took the paper and had a quick look over it. As agreed a week ago, they would discuss on several school policies, the coming Student Council election and… Suddenly, Hinagiku frowned.

"What is it, Hina?" asked Chiharu, surprised at the President's expression of disapproval. In fact, never ever had Hinagiku frowned at an agenda Chiharu prepared.

"Nothing," replied Hinagiku, but she knew that it wasn't exactly "nothing". "How many times have any issues been raised in AOB?" she finally asked.

"Any Other Business?" repeated Chiharu. "No, never. Usually people are too tired to raise any other business… including Aika-san, I must say."

"I see…"

"Is there anything that worries you?" asked Chiharu, leaning closer to her President.

Hinagiku thought hard as she was torn between her professional manner of Presidency and her girly desire of confiding her feelings into her friend. Finally she came to her decision.

"No," she said. "Nothing."

* * *

The Student Council meeting was called at 17:00 in the meeting room. Attendants include Katsura Hinagiku (Student Council President), Kazumi Aika (Vice Student Council President), Harukaze Chiharu (Secretary), a girl called Takahashi Masumi (Treasurer), a boy called Yukimura Takumi (Auditor), Segawa Izumi, Hanabishi Miki and Asakaze Risa.

As always, the meeting was a one-sided speech by Hinagiku alone, while other members merely listened to her, seconded her motions and approved them by voting. Hinagiku never liked this: she had wished for more debates and discussions during meetings, but that never happened. Hinagiku knew that things must be changed: perhaps she had to shake up her cabinet a bit for the next election.

The next Student Council election was scheduled on 30 September. Aika reported that there were no other candidates to the election, which meant that Hinagiku and her current cabinet were the only ones who were in. The election would therefore be turned into a Vote of Trust, on which students would decide on whether to "trust" Hinagiku and her cabinet. Then again, everybody knew that if they voted against Hinagiku, they would have no Student Council at all, which meant chaos.

At 18:47 the main items for discussion had been settled. All the Student Council members, excluding Hinagiku, Aika and Chiharu, looked tired. Masumi looked at her watch – a signal Hinagiku took as "it is time to let everyone go home".

"Okay, let's move to the next item on the agenda… Any Other Business," said Hinagiku. "Does anybody have any business to raise?"

Usually nobody would raise their hands – just as Chiharu had said – but to everyone's surprise, Aika raised her hand.

"Yes, Vice President?" said Hinagiku, trying hard to hide her surprise.

Aika cleared her throat. "I think everyone here has watched or read the news over these few days. There has been a masked man, called 'Silver Red', raiding the district. There is also the rumour that Silver Red is in fact our Student Council President, and… well, we all know that many reporters have been waiting for a formal reply from the President."

There was a moment of silence as nobody spoke.

"If you are demanding a reply from me, Vice President, I decline," said Hinagiku finally.

Aika shook her head. "No, President. It is not me who demands a reply, but the general public."

"What do you mean?" asked Hinagiku.

Aika put a piece paper on the table. "There is a petition started by the Chamber of Commerce. Please read through it."

Hinagiku took the paper, which read:

"_We, the undersigned, criticize the actions of Silver Red over the last two days, which caused heavy damages to properties and injuries to our fellow citizens. We declare that these are not acceptable practices in our society, and the fact that Silver Red branded his crime as 'justice' makes him highly hypocritical._

_We strongly support the police in bringing Silver Red to justice and would aid the authorities in any way necessary_."

There were about 70 signatures or seals on it.

"I suggest," said Aika with a smile on her face, "that we sign this petition as 'Student Council of Hakuou Academy', and issue a public statement that our Student Council President is not in any way related to Silver Red. This would bring an end to the rumours surrounding our President, and shed good light onto the Council. After all, we can show to the public that we side with justice."

Hinagiku looked at the petition again. She reflected on the actions she took over the past two days. She then looked at the words "crime" and "hypocritical". She then thought about what Aika said about "siding with justice". She then…

"No," said Hinagiku finally. "I do not want to sign this petition."

The smile on Aika's face vanished. "Why, President?"

"I do not think that this is the right thing to do, that's why," said Hinagiku dismissively. "This topic should be closed."

The corner of Aika's mouth twisted. "Very well," she said.

Nobody else said anything on this.

* * *

In the next morning, Hinagiku returned to school expecting the same flock of reporters. To her surprise, there were no reporters, but quite a lot of students – over 300, Hinagiku estimated – holding banners. "Say no to Silver Red! Sign the petition! Say no to Silver Red! Sign the petition!" they kept on shouting. Hinagiku knew at once from her experience what this meant: it was a demonstration.

"_This is so strange,_" Hinagiku thought to herself. It happened so quick, so organized, and so sudden – she heard nothing the day before, but this day she faced hundreds of angry students. It seemed that they were manipulated by someone.

There was something Hinagiku wanted to know. She held up her hand – her signal, as Student Council President, for silence. "How do you know about the petition?" demanded Hinagiku, very loudly, as the noise around her died down.

Nobody spoke.

"How do you know about anything on the decision of the Student Council regarding this petition?" asked Hinagiku, trying to narrow down her question. There was no reason to hide the fact that the Council did discuss on the petition, now that the students had raised this subject.

"They heard it from me," called a voice behind Hinagiku. She turned around, and she was shocked.

"Aika-san!" cried Hinagiku. "What are you doing?"

"I am trying to let you know that many of the students demand the same justice as this petition," said Aika, smiling. "It is easily the opinion of the majority of the students, President. As the responsible representative of the voices of the students, I once again suggest you to sign the petition."

The students around Hinagiku cheered very loudly.

"No!" shouted Hinagiku, very determinedly. "Arresting Silver Red is a wrong move. He is fighting for our people, and for justice! Why would you expect me to observe justice by agreeing to arrest someone who observes justice?"

The students booed.

"What do you know about Silver Red, President?" asked Aika. "He is seen by the public as a criminal and a hypocrite! What do you know about Silver Red which suggests that he is actually a hero?"

"H – he did not cause those damages intentionally!" said Hinagiku weakly, who was fully aware that she could not give any evidence to support her claim. "Surely, he might be a bit reckless, but he was helping those who were in need!"

"Do you know Silver Red in person, President?" demanded Aika. "Are you in the position to defend what he has done?"

"No, I do not know him," answered Hinagiku, desperately trying to think on her feet. "But…"

"If you do not know him and have no defense for him," said Aika loudly, interrupting Hinagiku, "then please sign the petition! This is the voice of the students at this school!"

"Then they are quite wrong on this!" said Hinagiku stubbornly. She knew that it was stupid, but she also thought that it would be more stupid to support a petition which condemned herself. Suddenly, she had the feeling that she had fallen into a trap, with no hope of escaping no matter how hard she struggled.

The students booed even louder.

"What is wrong here," said Aika, now grinning, "is that you can no longer effectively represent the students in this school. I suggest new leadership is needed."

The noise died down. Everybody turned to Aika abegan to realize what was coming.

"I call for a Vote of No Confidence in the leadership of Katsura Hinagiku."


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10: Ordinary people must stand up when the hero is in trouble**_

"So, a Vote of No Confidence, huh?"

"Yes, milady. It would be held three days later."

After school, Hayate and Nagi went home and talked about the motion by Kazumi Aika of a Vote of No Confidence in Katsura Hinagiku, the Student Council President. The details were outlined in a leaflet distributed to the whole school. Nagi was holding one in her hand, and she frowned as she scanned over the content.

"And there would be no abstention," said Hayate. "Why is it so?"

"Well, it is 'assumed'," began Nagi, emphasising the word "assumed", "that Hakuou students can do better than to abstain in a matter like this, so the teachers do not allow a third option for them."

"What do you mean, milady?"

"You either have confidence in Hinagiku, or you do not," said Nagi simply. "There is no third option."

"But then…" began Hayate hesitantly, as he thought of the likes of Izumi, Miki and Risa.

"As I said, it is only 'assumed', so it doesn't speak for the idiots who cannot make up their mind," said Nagi heavily. "But then, there is no need for you to worry about the people you are thinking of now. Idiots they might be, but they are very loyal to Hinagiku."

"H – how do you know whom I was thinking of, milady?" asked Hayate as he blushed. He was surprised that Nagi could read his mind so precisely.

"I thought of them as well," said Nagi calmly.

"So what about you, milady?" asked Hayate, clearly relieved. "Have you made up your mind?"

"Oh yes I have."

"It is so rare to see you being so decisive on school-related matters, mi-" Hayate began, but then he took a cushion in the face.

"Come off it!" shouted Nagi as she blushed furiously. "I have to vote anyway, so what's wrong with me making up my mind early?"

"My apologies, milady," said Hayate as he placed the cushion back to its original position. "So what would you vote?"

Nagi sighed. "It is not my vote that you have to worry about, Hayate."

* * *

Meanwhile, Hinagiku and Chiharu were having a discussion at the school cafe. As Hinagiku was subjected to a Vote of No Confidence, she was temporarily suspended from her position as Student Council President until the vote was over. Her duties had all been transferred to Athena ("You must be kidding, Kirika-san!" she said), who would also be hosting the vote three days later.

As she was suspended from her post, Hinagiku was not allowed to use the Student Council office. She knew full well that if she were to lose the vote, she would not be seeing her office desk again. It would cause some troubles vacating the office as Hinagiku had almost made it her personal room. To begin with, she had stored a lot of spare uniform in the room.

But now, she had more important things to worry about than her spare uniform.

"As you well know, the Vote of No Confidence is a two-third majority vote," said Chiharu. "There are 1,001 students at Hakuou. As the subject, you cannot vote, so there would be a total of 1,ooo votes. Therefore, a total of 667 votes will be needed to remove you from the office."

Hinagiku nodded. "In other words, I'll have to secure 334 votes if I am to remain as Student Council President."

"It won't be easy," said Chiharu.

"No, it won't," admitted Hinagiku. "There were about 300 students at the demonstration this morning, and I am afraid that there were many more who did not turn up. If we double that figure, it would be 600 students, so there would only be 400 votes left for me to fight. I do not have much ground to lose."

"So what are you going to do, Hina?

"Clearly, I will have to ask for their support," said Hinagiku, but she didn't sound at all certain. As long as she refused to sign the petition, or to openly criticise Silver Red, she knew that she was not going to convince too many people.

* * *

The next day, what Hinagiku saw encouraged her and discouraged her in equal measures. What encouraged her was that there was another group of demonstrators, but under the banners of "Support Hinagiku" and "Support Silver Red" – Hinagiku found it ironic that somehow the students managed to relate her two identities. What discouraged her was that the group against her seemed to have grown significantly. While it might not have been doubled, the group had definitely grown by 100 or 200 students.

From a distance, Hinagiku did a very quick head count on the group which supported her – it was the group that mattered to her, and it was easier to count anyway – and found that there were about 200 students. She would still need another 134 from the neutrals, or even better from the opposition group. She knew that she had to do something, but so far she did not have better arguments than those from the previous day.

Meanwhile, the two groups began shouting at each other. The group which supported Hinagiku accused the other group of forgetting how much the Student Council President had done for the school, and how often her decisions had benefitted the school. The group which opposed Hinagiku kept on criticising her decision to back Silver Red, and that she was naive enough to believe in hero "fantasy".

The conflict escalated soon enough, as some volatile students from both sides began throwing leaflets and fists against their opposition. The school security stepped in and tried their best to separate the two groups, but only ended up being beaten by their angry fists. It had become a huge mess, but Hinagiku could only watch at the school gate. She was no longer in the position to demand order, and she knew full well that should she show herself, the demonstrations could turn into a riot.

Suddenly, there was a very loud voice besides Hinagiku that made her jump: "IDIOTS!"

Hinagiku turned to the source of the voice and, to her surprise, she saw Nagi, who looked absolutely furious, and Hayate, who was holding a loudspeaker for her. The students appeared to have been stunned by Nagi's sudden loud voice as well. They stopped fighting and turned to look at Nagi.

"Shame on this school," shouted Nagi, "which brags how prestigious it is, yet the students do not even know what is right, and what is wrong!"

Her words fired up all the students, who began shouting at her. "What are you talking about?" "Who are you saying, idiots?" "Which side are you on?"

"I am saying," shouted Nagi again, and the students were silenced once again – the loudspeaker was so powerful that it overwhelmed all the noises made by the students – "that those who want Hinagiku to sign that stupid petition do not know what they are doing!"

The Hinagiku supporters cheered in joy as they found such a powerful voice on their side. The opposition group looked a bit shaken in front of the powerful enemy. "W – what do you mean by that?" one of them managed to ask. "Silver Red has disrupted public order!"

"Then you have no idea what Silver Red has really done over the past few days!" shouted Nagi without fear. "On the day you said that he has caused a traffic jam on the main road, he has saved me from kidnappers. Without him, I don't even know where I would be right now!"

Nobody spoke.

"And on the day you said he has destroyed a restaurant, Silver Red helped my butler to save my cousin! And I won't be afraid to tell you that it was my butler who did most of the damages to the restaurant, so I will apologise to the owner, and offer any compensation he would demand!"

"B – but he has also assaulted the police!" there came a voice, but it sounded weak. "The serpent…"

"Do you have any evidence that it was summoned by Silver Red?" shouted Nagi. "Just because it has attacked the police, and Silver Red took benefit from that, does it mean that he has summoned it? Has this school not taught you about the legal system and its spirit? Innocent until proven guilty!"

The Hinagiku supporters cheered.

"Hinagiku has made the right choice not to sign that stupid petition which incriminates the one who has saved my cousin and myself. And yet you idiots are here shouting at her, and would be voting her out of office two days later! How stupid are you?"

The Hinagiku supporters booed, this time towards the opposition group, who had no response.

"This lot is pissing me off! Let's go home, Hayate!" said Nagi coldly as she turned away.

"Yes, milady!" said Hayate proudly as he lowered the loudspeaker. Usually he would have to apologise to the others if Nagi leaves them in such a rude manner, but this time he was in full support of his lady's move. To him, there was absolutely nothing wrong to be rude to the "idiots".

Hinagiku took a step towards them. "Nagi… Hayate-kun…" she began, but she was so moved that she had yet to regain composure to say "thank you".

Nagi, without looking back, showed her a thumb. Hayate did turn and showed her a warm smile and a nod.

Tears fell heavily on Hinagiku's cheeks. It didn't matter if the whole world was against her – she felt that she could live on with the support of only these two people.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11: Your choice is a reflection of your personality, so do not compromise lightly**_

Everyone was anxious on the day of the vote. Most students realised that it was a day which would change the fate of the school – for better or worse.

The vote was scheduled at 16:00 in the School Hall. Every student was required to be present at the venue by the time. The host of the vote, Tennonsu Athena (Chairperson), would then call out the students one by one, according to their students numbers and names, to make a voice vote on the Motion of No Confidence. The results would not be simultaneously displayed, but students who had intended to make notes could surely make counts of the votes during the process.

"This gives a lot of room for manipulation," said Hayate to Nagi as they both walked into the School Hall. Meanwhile, students around them kept shouting slogans like "In Hinagiku we trust!" or "Katsura out!" It was a miracle that no fights had broken out this time.

"Yes, it does," admitted Nagi. "But in most cases manipulations just won't work."

"Why is it so, milady?" asked Hayate.

"Let me ask you, Hayate," said Nagi as she turned to her butler. "If you know that Hinagiku is losing in this vote by a landslide, would you vote 'for' the Motion?"

"Of course I won't!" said Hayate determinedly.

"Of course," said Nagi with a nod. "For people who have already decided which side they are going to support, the results do not matter. It is only those who have absolutely no idea whether to support the Motion or not would be in trouble, and it would be a good test on their decision-making skills. After all, a student cannot be intelligent enough to count the votes but be indecisive enough not to know which side he or she should support."

"Hakuou really goes hard on its students…" said Hayate thoughtfully.

* * *

The School Hall was already set up for the voting. About 1,000 seats were placed in the Hall for the students. On the centre stage, there was a podium on the left, and a line of 8 chairs by it. All the students were aware who would be occupying those chairs.

By 16:00, all the students were assembled and seated in the School Hall. Tennonsu Athena then stepped onto the stage, and she was followed by the current Student Council members: Katsura Hinagiku (Student Council President), Kazumi Aika (Vice Student Council President), Harukaze Chiharu (Secretary), Takahashi Masumi (Treasurer), Yukimura Takumi (Auditor), Segawa Izumi, Hanabishi Miki and Asakaze Risa. Athena approached the podium while the Student Council members were seated.

Athena cleared her throat through the mic, and the talking among students died down at once.

"Dear Hakuou students," said Athena, "we are gathered here to vote on a Motion of No Confidence called by Kazumi Aika-san, Vice Student Council President, against Katsura Hinagiku-san, Student Council President. All current Hakuou students, with the exception of Katsura-san herself, are mandated to vote either 'for' or 'against' the Motion. There would be no abstention."

Some students began to discuss at once, and the Hall became noisy again.

"I should also point out to the students," said Athena a little more loudly, "that should the Motion be passed on a two-thirds majority, the current Student Council would be dismissed. Election of the new Student Council President would begin imminently instead of September 30, and Katsura-san, who would have lost the Confidence vote, would have no right to be elected."

There was significant noise among the students. Clearly some students did not know of such a consequence.

"The Vote of No Confidence would now begin," said Athena even more loudly. "The student who hears his or her student number and name should rise and respond to my call."

Students became quiet once again as the process began.

"Student number 978401272713, Sanzen'in Nagi-san."

Nagi stood up. "Yes," she replied. "_Why am I the first one?_" she asked herself.

"Well, it is because the author cannot think of another student as a full example~~~…" said the Voice of Heavens.

"How say you, Sanzen'in-san?" asked Athena, ignoring the Voice of Heavens.

"Nay!" answered Nagi loudly. Many students booed. Nagi was a bit shocked, but then Hayate grabbed her hand, signally her to sit down. Nagi felt the warmth from his hand and calmed down. She then smiled at her butler and took her seat.

Athena did not comment on the booing. She knew exactly that it was part of the voice voting culture, so she tolerated it. The voting continued.

"How say you?" "No!" Booing.

"How say you?" "Aye!" Cheering.

"How say you?" "Yes!" Cheering again.

"How say you?" "I vote for the Motion, Chairperson!" Cheering went even louder.

Hayate was quietly counting the votes on each side. 500 votes went by and it was 372 for and 128 against. Things were clearly not going well for Hinagiku. If she could not secure another 206 votes…

"… Ayasaki Hayate-san," called Athena, but Hayate did not hear her. Nagi nudged Hayate in the ribs, making him jump.

"Yes! Yes! What is it?" he asked, very desperately.

Athena glared at him. "How say you?" she asked coldly.

"What… oh yes. No, I mean, no, no! I am against…" said Hayate, but his face was hit by a raw egg. Egg yolk began dripping down his face. It smelt and looked very unpleasantly.

"Who did that?" demanded Athena very loudly. Throwing eggs would be going too far, even for the voice voting culture.

"Sorry, my hand slipped!" a boy in front of Hayate answered with his hand held high. Neither Hayate nor Athena knew him personally, so it could only be that he did not like people voting against the Motion.

"Violence is not tolerated in the School Hall!" demanded Athena, furiously. "You shall serve a week's worth of detention!"

The boy merely shrugged.

The voting continued, and it then came to the Student Council members themselves.

"Against," answered Chiharu, who found it odd to participate in deciding whether the Council she was on would survive.

"No!" answered Miki.

"Nay!" answered Izumi.

"No!" answered Risa.

"Against, Chairperson!" answered Masumi.

"Of course I vote for the Motion. I am the one who called for it," said Aika as she grinned.

"Aye!" answered Takumi. Everyone on the Student Council, except Aika, turned to him in shock.

"Yukimura-kun!" Masumi cried. "Why?"

"There is no why!" snorted Takumi. Everyone, however, noticed that he blushed. It appeared that there was a reason, after all…

"You…" began Miki, outraged. She simply could not accept that there would be a "traitor" in the Council.

"Silence!" demanded Athena and Hinagiku at the same time.

At 18:47, the voting was almost over. There was only one more vote to go. Hayate looked at his notes: it was 666 for and 333 against. It all came to this final last vote, which would therefore be of utmost importance. His heart began to race…

"Student number 535470869413, Hibino Fumi-san," called Athena.

"Yes?' Fumi jumped up and looked around. It appeared that she had no idea what she was doing here.

"How say you?" asked Athena.

"Say what?"

Athena was shocked. Surely this girl would have known what everyone else had been doing in the last 2 hours? "W – we are having a Vote of No Confidence, remember?" she said patiently.

"What is the Note of Von Cofidence?" asked Fumi.

Hayate held his head in his hands. "_Why does it have to be her?_" he asked himself.

"Please," said Athena, trying to remain calm, "just say whether you want Katsura Hinagiku-san to remain Student Council President."

"Just say no, girl!" the students began to shout at Fumi. "This will do the school a lot of good!"

"What do you say?" asked Athena once again.

Fumi remained motionless for 3 minutes, while the students tried even harder to persuade her to make their preferred choice. Then finally, she gave her answer.

"Yes! I want her to be Student Council President!"

There was immediate uproar among the students. "Why?" they asked.

"I like her! Sharna-chan likes her as well? Isn't it, Sharna-chan? Sharna-chan?"

Sharna, an Indian student and best friend to Fumi, had indeed voted against the Motion. She pushed her glasses slightly and said: "Indeed I find nothing wrong about the Student Council President, Fumi-chan."

"So we both like her! We want her to remain Student Council President!" said Fumi brightly.

Athena smiled. "So I take that as a vote against the Motion."

She marked Fumi's vote down, and made the following announcement:

"The vote is now concluded. There are a total of 666 votes for the Motion, and 334 votes against. As it fails to acquire two-thirds majority, the Motion is hereby declined."

The reception was mixed. Those who supported Hinagiku cheered and clapped, while those against her booed loudly as they left the School Hall.

Aika rose from her chair and approached Hinagiku.

"Congratulations, President," she said with a smile on her face.

Hinagiku also rose from her chair, but she did not speak or smile.

"We both know, however, that this is only the beginning," said Aika. "I'll meet you again at the end of this month." With that, she turned and left the stage.

Chiharu, who did not really understand what Aika was talking about, approached Hinagiku. "What is she talking about, Hina?"

Hinagiku sighed. "She has just told me that she would enter the Student Council President election," she said. "And I would lose unless I do something quickly."


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12: Introducing… the new Vice Student Council President**_

She might have survived the Vote of No Confidence, but Hinagiku knew that it was barely the end. Rather, as Aika had suggested, "this is only the beginning". Hinagiku realised that she must be more well-prepared for the challenges ahead if she were to survive again.

The next day, Hinagiku returned to the Student Council Room after class – more or less a second home for her. She called Chiharu for a meeting but to her surprise, two other people had come along with her.

"Hayate-kun, Nagi!" exclaimed Hinagiku as she stood up. Although entrance to the Clock Tower was supposedly restricted to members of the Student Council only, Hayate had been a frequent visitor, and even Hinagiku began to think that there was no problem with that. Nagi, on the other hand, was the most unlikely of visitors.

"We wanted to see how you are doing, Hinagiku-san," said Hayate, beaming. "We have not talked for some time, and we are really worried about you."

Hinagiku blushed. "T – thanks for your care," she said.

Nagi raised her eyebrow and cleared her throat. "So, Chiharu told us that you wanted a meeting with her. What's so urgent?"

"Well, I have just been informed this morning," said Hinagiku as she passed Nagi a piece of paper, "that both Aika-san and Yukimura-kun are resigning from the Student Council, and they have applied as candidate cabinet to the coming Student Council election."

"I do not understand," said Hayate. " Why would Aika-san want to enter the election after she has lost in the Vote of No Confidence?"

"She lost only by a single vote in a two-thirds majority vote," said Hinagiku. "The Student Council election, on the other hand, is a simple majority vote. 666 votes would therefore be more than enough to secure her Presidency."

"But in that case, why did she call for a Vote of No Confidence against you?" asked Hayate. "Why didn't she wait until the Student Council election to knock you out?"

Hinagiku took a moment to consider before answering the question. "I guess it was a two-fold plan," she said finally. "If the Vote of No Confidence succeeded, I would be out of the office immediately and have lost the right to the election, so it is a worthy shot if she is so confident of securing enough votes. Even if the Vote of No Confidence failed through, she would know just how many people are supporting her, and her supporters would be more determined to vote for her in the election just to make sure that I am gone."

"That… surely was a master plan," said Hayate, suddenly being frightened by the complexity of Aika's plans.

"It surely was," said Hinagiku with a nod. "Especially as she has turned another member of the Student Council against us."

Chiharu cursed. "Well, Yukimura-kun did look odd during the vote," she said, "but I never thought he would betray us and join Aika-san's cabinet. Why would he do that?"

"There is the rumour that Yukimura-kun has a crush on Aika-san," said Hinagiku.

"Yes, I know," said Chiharu, "but surely he knows that he would stand no chance against Aika-san's fiancé?"

"That really would be stupid of him," said Nagi. "I mean, he is not that bad-looking really, and with the status of the Auditor of the Student Council, he could attract a lot of girls who respect him."

"Boys would do anything for a girl they like even if they know that they would never get the girl's heart," said Hayate. "It would be totally worth it even if the girl only return as little as a smile."

Hinagiku, Chiharu and Nagi all stared at Hayate, who had just committed the cardinal sin of joining a girls' talk.

"Boys," said Hinagiku coldly.

"_W – what did I say?_" Hayate asked himself, but of course he wouldn't know the answer.

"Anyway," began Hinagiku, "according to the regulations of the Student Council election, it takes a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer and an Auditor to form an effective cabinet. In other words, we are now a Vice-President and an Auditor short."

"Could any of our existing members fill the void?" asked Chiharu. "I mean, we still have Miki, Izumi and Risa…"

She stopped herself as she realised what she had just said.

"I am sorry," she killed off her suggestion with an apology.

"Let's just see who would want to join our cabinet now," said Hinagiku as she stood up. "The cabinet of a Student Council President who barely managed to stay in office."

* * *

It really was a hard time trying to look for suitable candidates. To begin with, Hinagiku had only about 330 students to choose from – with her exceptional memory and understanding of the students, she knew exactly who voted against the Motion of No Confidence. Many of these students were not as intellectual as Aika, or as sensitive to numbers as Takumi. Most of the more "capable" students had already had taken up roles in other clubs or committees. Choices, therefore, were very limited.

For three straight days, Hinagiku and Chiharu had tried recruiting their new cabinet members without success. Hayate and Nagi had not been contacted, as every party knew full well that they would not want to join the Student Council.

Meanwhile, there were no serious crimes which could drive Hinagiku to take action as Silver Red. Consequently discussions on the hero/villain had died down considerably. Hinagiku could not explain the inconsistency in the intensity of crimes, although she was secretly pleased that the burden on her shoulders had not increase further – she was having a tough enough time on the recruitment.

* * *

"Maybe we should lower our expectations, Hina," said Chiharu as she slumped into a chair at one of the school cafes. She sounded exhausted – three days of fruitless headhunting really was hard to take. "This isn't working," she added.

Hinagiku did not speak. Masumi had already told her that a well-trained auditor was not necessary ("I could help with writing the reports. Anyone could do the job as long as they are able to tell if I have done my calculations wrong."), but Hinagiku had been spoilt by Takumi's reliable performance, so she honestly could not accept anyone who was worse than him…

"Ah! Sharna-chan! Sharna-chan! How many times have I told you not to buy snacks from that convenient store? Shop at the school's store instead!"

Both Hinagiku and Chiharu turned and saw that two girls were sitting at another table, which was piled with a lot of snacks. The two girls were both looking at a very long bill, presumably for all the snacks.

"They are…" began Chiharu uncertainly.

"Hibino Fumi-san and Sharna-san," answered Hinagiku. "Both from Class 1-3. Both voted against the Motion of No Confidence. Fumi was the one who casted the final vote, remember?"

"Oh yes, now that you mentioned," said Chiharu. She frowned as she recalled how Fumi behaved at the vote. Surely a student like her would not be helpful to the Student Council…

"I do not understand, Fumi-chan," they heard Sharna talking. "The store always offers 10% off for all the snack, while the school's store charges for full price. Why should we shop at the school's store?"

"It is because you have to take a taxi to and from that store!" exclaimed Fumi. "Take the taxi fare into account and you would see it is more expensive than shopping at the school's store by 134 yen!"

Sharna made a few taps on her calculator in silence. "You are right, Fumi-chan," she said.

"Also, the school's store is offering 'buy one get one free' on these items!" said Fumi as she pressed her finger on the bill. "This, this, this and this! In total you would have saved 858 yen, so in total it would be 992 yen cheaper to shop at the school's store today!"

Hinagiku watched Fumi in awe. Surely it was only a simple everyday audition, but if the girl had the potential…

"Hi, Fumi," Hinagiku approached Fumi, beaming. It was a long time ago since they last talked, so she wasn't entirely sure if the girl remembered her.

"Ah! Sharna-chan! Sharna-chan! Here comes the Student Council President!" said Fumi excitedly, pointing at Hinagiku. "The Student Council President who fainted on the plane we were on, and I saw her underwear as she climbed a tree!"

Hinagiku felt her veins popping up in anger, but she was determined to stay calm. She had something to ask for this girl, after all…

"I tell you what, Fumi," she said as she pulled out a piece of paper. And then she began writing very rapidly.

Chiharu walked towards Hinagiku to see what she was writing. It was a lengthy expenses breakdown, but Chiharu did not recall the Student Council spending so much money at any time, so she could only assume that it was made up by Hinagiku.

"Here," said Hinagiku as she finally passed the paper to Fumi. "Tell me, is the calculation correct?"

"No," said Fumi almost at once. "You have done it wrong.

"Please tell me," said Hinagiku, trying hard to hide her pleasure of her initial victory, "how many calculation errors are there?"

"Five in total," replied Fumi. "With those errors amended, the total expenses should be 8,336,263,647,102,324 yen. You have spent a lot of money, Student Council President!"

Hinagiku nodded and turned to Chiharu. "I got an Auditor," she said brightly.

"What are you talking about? I am not joining the Student Council if Sharna-chan is not with me!" exclaimed Fumi.

"That's exactly my plan," said Hinagiku sweetly.

"Hina," began Chiharu, who was not sure if the President had gone insane, "even if Hibino-san could be the Auditor, asking Sharna-san to be the Vice Student Council President could be too much a burden! No offence, Sharna-san." She added the last sentence as an afterthought.

"It's fine, Ms. Secretary," said Sharna.

"No, I am not asking Sharna to be Vice," said Hinagiku, her eyes shining brightly as she turned to Chiharu. "I am nominating you as Vice, Chiharu, and Sharna will take your original place as Secretary."

Chiharu felt like she had been hit by a thunderbolt.

"B – but Hina, that's asking too much…"

"Why? I know her grades. She has done well enough to be Secretary."

"No," said Chiharu weakly, "I am not talking about her, but… me! I am absolutely not qualified to be…"

"Yes, you are!" said Hinagiku firmly, interrupting Chiharu.

"Think of all those few months when we lived together at the apartment," said Hinagiku as she took Chiharu's hand. "You have been my closest ally in the Council, Chiharu. I – I should have asked you to take Aika-san's place three days ago, but I was so stupid that I didn't! It took me three days, but now I have figured it out: The Vice Student Council President has to be you!"

Chiharu could feel that Hinagiku's hand trembling in hers. She could feel the passion from her President, and what else could she say at the moment?

Chiharu smiled. "Alright, Hina," she said. "I accept your offer."


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter 13: Abandoning, and abandoned**_

"You are failing, Aika!"

The angry words of Sanzen'in Mikado echoed in his own study room at this night. Before him stood Kazumi Aika, in her usual kimono while visiting Mikado, but without her usual, confident smile. Instead, she was panting and sweating, as if she was ill.

"You told me that you had a plan to take that Katsura girl's place as Student Council President!" Mikado continued, ignoring Aika's physical discomfort. "You said that you could win in a Motion of No Confidence, but you failed. You also said that you could disband her cabinet by withdrawing yourself and that Auditor boy, but you also failed. Explain this to me!"

"I – I am sorry," said Aika, panting even more heavily. "I have always known that Hina is bold, but I – I never expected her to name two… inexperienced girls into her cabinet."

She was speaking as she set her eyes on a leaflet on the table, which listed the members of Hinagiku's cabinet. Aika found it very difficult not to call the new Auditor, who had a face resembling a specific emoticon, an "idiot". It was her insistence on verbal decency that forced her to use the word "inexperienced" instead.

"B – but… we are not failing," Aika continued. "I am going to win in the coming Student Council election. I'll be the Student Council President and Master of the Garden Gate, and…"

"It is too slow," interrupted Mikado. "I have had enough waiting. So is 'he' who is inside you. I can't say if 'he'…"

"ARGGGH!" Aika screamed very suddenly as she fell onto the ground. She felt that something was going to explode inside her body, and her mind was becoming more and more hazy. It was as if that her mind and body no longer belonged to her.

"I see," said Mikado as he stood up, grinning. "It really is too late for you, Aika."

* * *

"To a successful election campaign and happy friendship among us!" said Hinagiku very cheerfully as she offered a toss – with tea.

"Sure!" answered her cabinet members, with different degrees of enthusiasm. Chiharu, for one, tried very hard to look "cool".

The cabinet was having a tea gathering at the school cafe after lessons, on Hinagiku's invitation. With new members joining and Chiharu being promoted to Vice Student Council President, Hinagiku found it necessary to get everyone together for a happy gathering. They had had difficult times before, and certainly they would have them again in the future. A little fun was what they – or at least Hinagiku herself – needed.

As such, she had decided not to talk about anything serious other than their next meeting time. She allowed most of the time for members to talk among themselves, especially with Fumi and Sharna ("Ah! I remember you from the district quiz, Fumi-chan!" squeaked Izumi). She laughed at jokes made by the SC Rangers, and even made some herself. The atmosphere at this table was merry and warm.

* * *

Elsewhere, Hayate was walking towards the school cafe. He wasn't entirely sure why he wanted to go there, other than that he was free to do so: Nagi would spend her entire afternoon with Kayura, so Hayate would be free until 6 pm. He had the habit of going to wherever Hinagiku was when he was free at school. He couldn't explain his habit, but he never had a problem with it either…

"Ayasaki!"

A voice suddenly came from Hayate's behind. Hayate turned to see who was calling, and to his horror, he saw Segawa Kotetsu, Izumi's twin brother and butler, running toward him. If Kotetsu were a girl, Hayate would admit that she loved him like mad. The sad thing for Kotetsu was that, he wasn't a girl…

Kotetsu did not care about what Hayate thought about him. He grabbed Hayate very tightly from behind, almost knocking him down. "Oh my dear Ayasaki," he exclaimed, "how wonderful it is to be with you alone in this very sunny afternoon! Let's go have a date… OUCH!"

He was knocked in the ribs by Hayate's left elbow.

"Seriously, I have no time for you, Kotetsu-kun," said Hayate very coldly, his eyes glowing with murderous intent. "What are you doing here?"

"You really are mean, Ayasaki," replied Kotetsu, picking himself up. "Anyway, I am going to check on milady at the cafe. She told me that the tea gathering would be concluded around this time. I have to take her home."

"You know, you are not bad as a butler," said Hayate with a sigh. "If you can give up your poisonous obsession…"

He cut himself short as he saw something. Aika had just walked past him, and Hayate noticed that she was staring blankly ahead, while her entire body was surrounded by some barely noticeable dark aura. Hayate did not feel right about it; the alarm bell in his mind was ringing like mad. There was something familiar about that dark aura…

"Ah, why are you staring at Kazumi-san, Ayasaki?" asked Kotetsu. "I am going to tell the Student Council President about this…"

Hayate blushed furiously at once. "W – why are you mentioning Hinagiku-san? W – what does she have to do with this?"

"Who knows?" said Kotetsu triumphantly. Apparently he had found something which could be used to blackmail Hayate. "Now if you want me to keep this as a secret…"

"BANG!"

There came a loud noise of explosion somewhere nearby. A moment later, Hayate and Kotetsu could hear people screaming and running towards them in fear. There must have been a serious accident ahead. Hayate's heart skipped a beat as he realised where the people were fleeing from.

"Let's go, Kotetsu-kun!" he shouted. "It is the school cafe!"

* * *

Everybody in the school cafe jumped up from their seats. Hinagiku turned to the entrance and saw Aika, who was grinning. The dark aura that surrounded her became more apparent and vicious.

"Aika-san!" she exclaimed. "What is going on…?"

A dark fist emerged from Aika's aura, striking straight at Hinagiku. Barely managed to react in time, Hinagiku dodged the punch, which landed on the opposite wall, striking a huge hole through it. Hinagiku gasped. If that punch landed on her…

The others in the cafe began to scream. Hinagiku knew that her first priority was to keep the other people safe. She stood up and summoned Wooden Masamune, getting ready for a fight. "Everyone!" she shouted at the top of her voice. "Run!"

At her command, the students began to run out of the cafe. Grinning, Aika began sending out even more fists from her aura, striking randomly at walls, stopping the students from running. A few students managed to get out of the cafe after dodging some attacks, but many more were stopped dead from their flee.

"You – " began Hinagiku as she dashed towards Aika. She leaped into the air and tried to strike at Aika. She intended to use her attacks as bait to attract Aika's full attention, so that the students could seize the chance to escape.

Aika grinned again. Another dark fist came out and struck at Masamune. Hinagiku felt a strong pushing force from Masamune, knocking her back. She landed two feet away from Aika, and she felt that both her arms were shaking. It was a very powerful strike.

Hinagiku glanced at the other students. Chiharu and Masumi were guiding the students to the exit. Miki, Risa and Izumi were hiding under the table, clearly frightened. Fumi and Sharna were nowhere to be seen, so they probably had left already.

"You don't have to worry about other people," Hinagiku found Aika talking in a hoarse voice. "I only want you and your cabinet members!"

"You have to kill me before hurting my friends!" shouted Hinagiku.

"So be it…" said Aika as she began throwing even more fists at Hinagiku.

"Chiharu, Masumi!" shouted Hinagiku as she blocked and dodged the fists. "Help Izumi and the others, and get out of here now!"

"What about you, Hina?" shouted Chiharu. She knew full well what Hinagiku was doing, but she was definitely not leaving without the President.

"I will come after you… ARRGH!"

As she screamed, Hinagiku fell onto the ground. Masamue was sent a few feet further behind. The distraction from talking to Chiharu was clearly too much during such a fierce battle.

"You are weak, girl," said Aika as she stepped towards Hinagiku. "I see that you are not as strong as that butler boy, after all."

"W – what are you talking about?" asked Hinagiku weakly. She had absolutely no idea what Aika was talking about.

"That butler boy defeated me with the same sword," said Aika. "But now you have fallen before me."

"What…?"

Aika laughed out loud. "I am going to capture you all…" she said.

"Not on my watch!" said a voice from the cafe entrance. Hinagiku and Aika both turned their heads and saw Hayate and Kotetsu. "Milady!" shouted Kotetsu.

"Kotetsu-kun…" they could hear Izumi crying from under a table. She was fine… for the moment.

"Ah, speak of the devil…" said Aika as she pointed her finger at Hayate. "It has been a while, butler…"

"What are you talking about, Aika-san?" asked Hayate, who was just as confused as Hinagiku.

"Get out of the way, unless you want to die with the Student Council!" hissed Aika as she walked towards the butlers.

Hayate looked at Kotetsu. "Let's go, Kotetsu-kun," he said. "We have only one chance."

Kotetsu nodded. Knowing how serious the situation was, his mind was very focused.

"Now!" cried Hayate as the two butlers both dashed forward. Aika began her onslaughts on the two boys, but none of her attacks got close to them.

"Milady!" shouted Kotetsu again. Izumi heard his voice, and she picked up enough courage to emerge from under the table. She saw Kotetsu coming and began throwing her arms at him…

"ARRGH!"

Izumi heard Kotetsu screaming, as he was finally hit by one of Aika's dark fists. He was sent flying out of the cafe.

"Kotetsu-kun!" cried Izumi as she saw her twin brother disappearing from her sight.

Hinagiku was still not on her feet, but she saw Hayate coming. "Be careful, Hayate-kun!" she shouted. "You can't save us all, so just pick one of them and get out of here!"

"That's exactly my plan!" Hayate shouted back as he dodged more and more fists, and to Hinagiku's shock, Hayate chose to grab her.

"W – wait…" began Hinagiku, totally confused, as Hayate began bringing her out of the cafe in a bear hug. "No, no, Hayate-kun. The girls…"

"You said it yourself, Hinagiku-san," said Hayate. "I can only save one of you."

"But not me!" cried Hinagiku. "Save the other girls, not me, Hayate-kun!"

"I refuse to comply!"

"Put me down, Hayate-kun!"

"I won't!"

As Hayate fled, Hinagiku's eyes met with Izumi's. Hinagiku saw the shock and fear from Izumi's eyes, but she could also see the smile on her face. "It's okay, Hina-chan," Hinagiku could hear Izumi talking to her. "You are now safe."

Hinagiku's eyes began flooding with tears.

"NOOOOOOO!" she cried out loud.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter 14: I have barely made any progress but I have hit word limits already…**_

For a very long moment, neither Hayate nor Hinagiku knew what had happened in the school cafe, from where they fled. Hayate kept on running, as he was not sure if they were safe from Aika – or whoever she had become. Hinagiku had stopped struggling to get loose of Hayate's hug, but started crying in his shoulder. The eye-contact with Izumi had completely broken her heart.

Fifteen minutes into their run, Hayate retreated into the woods as he finally slowed down and looked back. There was no one coming after them, and they could no longer see the school cafe. Hayate let out a long breath, and put Hinagiku down. She did not stand on her feet, however, as she slumped to the ground.

"Hinagiku-san!" called Hayate as he took her hand, intending to pull her up. Usually she would give him some response – either a compliance by standing up, or a rejection by taking her hand back – but not this time. She sat on the ground with her head down, as if totally unaware that Hayate was trying to help her up. Hayate could feel that her hand was very cold – he knew from before that this would be a very bad sign of her emotional status.

"Hinagiku-san," said Hayate soothingly as he sat down besides Hinagiku, still holding her hand. "What is it?"

Hinagiku did not respond for a long moment. Hayate decided that he would not rush her, but rather to wait for her to at least say something first. Time was almost frozen as neither of them spoke.

Finally, Hinagiku looked up. "Hayate-kun," she said very quietly – Hayate could see that her eyes were filled with tears – "Why?"

Hayate did not understand what she was asking. "Why what, Hinagiku-san?" he asked.

"Why save me?" asked Hinagiku, speaking with a louder but trembling voice.

"W – why?" repeated Hayate, confused. "You were in danger, Hinagiku-san. I had to save you."

"Izumi and the others were also in danger," said Hinagiku. "Why didn't you save them?"

Hayate sighed. "You know full well that I could only save one of you," he said. "So I decided that – "

"Why did you decide to save me?" asked Hinagiku shortly, interrupting Hayate, as she finally took her hand back. "You could have saved Izumi or Chiharu or Masumi, but why did you choose to save me?"

"I – I thought it was the best choice to make!" replied Hayate as he desperately tried to understand what made Hinagiku so angry. Surely there was nothing wrong saving her instead of the others? "You are the most important person in the restaurant, so – "

"No, I am not!" shouted Hinagiku. "I am just one of the students inside the cafe, that's all! And as Student Council President, I should have made sure that everyone was safe before leaving!"

"But your position as Student Council President is what makes you most important, Hinagiku-san!" exclaimed Hayate. "As Student Council President, you are the symbol of this school! Do you have any idea what it would mean to the other students if they learn that the Student Council President has been held hostage?"

Hinagiku shook her head. "No, no, Hayate-kun, you don't understand…"

"No, it is you who does not understand, Hinagiku-san!" shouted Hayate as he grabbed her shoulders. "You simply do not understand just how important you are to us!"

"But…" Hinagiku began weakly. Why was it so difficult for him to understand that he had saved the wrong person?

"And even if you think that you are only one of the other students," said Hayate firmly, "what's wrong with me deciding that you were the one I wanted to save most in that situation? What's wrong with me thinking that you are more important than the others?"

Hinagiku's heart skipped a beat. She then began to blush furiously, but she did not speak.

Hayate watched her closely. He could feel that her irrational anger was already gone. Apparently she had regained some senses. He did not speak either, but he smiled at her.

A moment later, Hinagiku decided to stand up. Hayate came to her aid at once, taking her hand again. He was glad to know that her hand had become much warmer.

"I am sorry, Hayate-kun," said Hinagiku, blushing slightly as she felt slightly embarrassed that he was holding her hand, "for saying all those bad things."

"No, Hinagiku-san," said Hayate gently. "You do not have to apologise."

Hinagiku sighed. "Now I just want to know if Chiharu and the others are safe," she said. "What do we do now?"

"You know, Hinagiku-san," said Hayate, "maybe we should talk to A-tan first."

* * *

"I see. That'd explain."

Those were the words from Athena after she had heard Hayate and Hinagiku telling her the whole story. Neither Hayate nor Hinagiku had any idea what she was talking about, though.

"Explain what, A-tan?" asked Hayate.

Athena stood up and sighed. "King Midas has returned," she said, "and he has possessed Aika."

"What?" asked Hayate and Hinagiku together, but for different reasons.

"King Midas… I thought I defeated him in Athens!" exclaimed Hayate.

"So this 'King Midas' is real? I – I heard Saginomiya-san saying the name once, but I thought she was only joking!" exclaimed Hinagiku.

Athena glared at them.

"Let's deal with your reactions one by one," she said calmly. "Yes, it is for real, Hinagiku. And by the way… are you telling me you fought him without even knowing who he was?"

Hinagiku shrugged. "Well, technically I did not fight him, as I was caught by him before I could do anything to him. But his identity isn't important, is it? I mean, Hayate-kun was in danger…"

"Well, well…" said Athena with a sigh. At this rate, she thought, Hinagiku could stand against the whole world just to help Hayate. "And yes, you defeated him, Hayate. But no, you did not kill him. So now he comes back for revenge."

"I thought I have finished him off!" said Hayate. "I turned him into pieces, didn't I?"

"Yes, but King Midas has the ability to regenerate," said Athena. "In fact, only the Shirosakura has enough power to kill him. Your brother Ikusa (Athena blushed slightly when mentioning his name) fought him with that sword once, but he had no intention to kill him, so he regenerated. You could have intended to kill him, but the sword you used did not have enough power, so he regenerated again. Now that Shirosakura has been destroyed…"

Athena glared at Hinagiku, who looked alarmed.

"W – what? I didn't mean to destroy Shirosakura!" she said defensively.

"No, I am just saying that you would have a very difficult task fighting him this time," said Athena reasonably.

"'You'?" asked Hayate. "Are you not fighting him with us, A-tan?"

Athena shook her head. "No, I can't, and I have my own reason which I cannot explain to you. All you need to know now is that, if you have to fight King Midas, you have to do it without me."

"I am not interested in fighting him," said Hinagiku. "I just want to save my friends, so what are we going to do?"

"Not to worry, Hinagiku," said Athena as she sat down again. "It appears to me that King Midas has been targeting you, not your friends. Soon enough he would…"

Athena's television suddenly turned itself on, showing the Clock Tower of Hakuou Academy.

"… come for you," Athena finished her line, ignoring the television.

"This is a warning to the man known as Silver Red," said a very deep male voice with echoing effect. "The Student Council members of Hakuou Academy are being held hostage. If you want them alive, come to the top of this Clock Tower at 11 o'clock tonight, alone."

The television then turned itself off.

"Clever…" muttered Athena. She looked at Hinagiku, who was still staring at the now blank television, with the kind of determination that Athena knew she was going to do something stupid. She opened her mouth to speak, but Hayate was ahead of her.

"Not to worry, Hinagiku-san," he said. "I am sure that Mr. Silver Red would take care of everything. There is nothing to worry about."

Hinagiku smiled at him. "I know, Hayate-kun," she said.

Athena sighed. So Hinagiku would indeed be doing something stupid, and it was already too late to stop her…

* * *

It was 22:30 at the Katsura household.

Hinagiku took out her Silver Red costume and stared at it thoughtfully. She had been wearing this costume quite a few times, but she knew that she had never been very fond of it. Suddenly, she felt sorry about it – after all, this suit offered her a role to do justice, which she could not do so as Katsura Hinagiku…

Suddenly, she heard someone knocking on the door. Hinagiku quickly threw her costume into the closet, and answered: "Yes?"

"Hina-chan?" asked Mrs. Katsura on the other side of the door. "Can I come in?"

"Y -yes, mom."

Mrs. Katsura entered the room with a smile on her face. Hinagiku smiled back, determined not to let her mother know that she was going out tonight. She would sneak out later, somehow…

"Why are you still here, Hina-chan?" asked Mrs. Katsura. "I thought you were going to the Clock Tower."

Hinagiku's face went pale.

"W – what are you talking about, mom?" she asked. "I – I am not…"

"Come on, Hina-chan," said Mrs. Katsura, smiling. "Have you ever been able to lie to me?"

Hinagiku opened her mouth, but she indeed was not able to hide herself. "How do you know, mom?"

"The evening news suggested that the police could not go near the Clock Tower, so we can't leave the matter to them," said Mrs. Katsura."Whoever is holding your friends in the Clock Tower asks for Silver Red, and Silver Red is my daughter. My daughter always helps her friends when they are in trouble. So, I figured that you would be going."

"I am sorry, mom," said Hinagiku, lowering her head, "for being such a reckless girl. I know that I make you worry…"

"It's fine, Hina-chan, it's fine," said Mrs. Katsura as she patted Hinagiku's head. "I am actually glad that my little daughter is doing all these great things, being a hero of other people."

Hinagiku did not speak. She had never wished to become a hero…

"What I do not understand is why you are doing all the heroics in a hero suit," said Mrs. Katsura as she sat on Hinagiku's bed. "You could have done them as yourself."

Hinagiku sat next to her mother. "You know, mom," she said. "There are things that could only be done by a hero."

"No, I disagree, Hina-chan," said Mrs. Katsura as she shook her head. "Do you remember what I have told you about how weird it is for people to think that there is a problem for cute girls to beat up bad guys, but there is none for masked people in suits?"

"I do, mom," replied Hinagiku.

"What I have wanted to say is that, we honestly do not need all those 'heroes'," said Mrs. Katsura, taking Hinagiku's hand. "If it is the right thing to do, everyone should be allowed to do it. If everyone can do the right thing – the heroics, so we say – there is no need to have masked heroes."

Hinagiku smiled.

"I understand what you mean, mom," she said, "but tonight is all about Silver Red. Please trust me: I have a feeling that it would be the final outing for this masked hero."


	15. Chapter 15

_**Chapter 15: The most depressing revelation**_

Mikado was in the Student Council Room on top of the Clock Tower, sitting at Hinagiku's desk. He looked at the mechanical clock on the desk: it was 22:50. Mikado put his hands together and grabbed them tightly. He was a bit nervous – something he had been looking forward to for so long was finally going to happen in 10 minutes.

In front of him, there stood King Midas, who was in the form of the now-posseesed Aika. Mikado could not see the face of King Midas, but he was sure that the legendary spirit was as excited as he was. They were both on a quest for some things they wanted, after all. King Midas never said what he wanted, but it was not important to Mikado – all he had to know was that he would get what he wanted.

"Are you sure that she will come?" asked King Midas suddenly, in Aika's voice. "If she doesn't show up, you will only have 10 more minutes to live, old man."

"Relax, King Midas," answered Mikado as he grinned. "That Katsura girl would definitely come, in her stupid hero suit."

"Speaking of that, why did you tell me to ask specifically for 'Silver Red' to come, instead of the girl?" asked King Midas. "If they are the same person, what is wrong with asking directly for the girl?"

"You are less intelligent than I thought," said Mikado, still grinning. "That Katsura girl is the Student Council President of this school, and she is a very important figure to this neighbourhood. If we asked for the girl to come, the police would guard her house and effectively locks her within. Now that we asked for that stupid 'Silver Red', you could see the police are trying to break into the school instead. I assume your barrier is powerful enough to keep them out?"

"Of course," answered King Midas. The police were indeed gathering at the school gate, but they were not able to get into the school. The officers were confused: the school gate was opened, but as they walked close to it, they found themselves hitting an invisible wall. They were considering to call for a battering ram, but they had difficulty trying to explain that they needed to knock down something which was non-existing to the eye.

"And of course the Katsura girl would come," said Mikado. "She is too noble to leave her friends suffering here. I hate to say this, but she really is an interesting girl – fascinating, even."

* * *

As Silver Red walked towards the school, the first thing she saw was the police officers who were still busying trying to get into the school. They might look funny, but Silver Red was not in the mood of laughing at them. With her "reputation" among the police and the public, Silver Red knew that the officers would be a problem for her.

She had every reason to enter the school simply by jumping over the wall – just like what she did last time. A thought came to her mind, though: she would go through the police officers to enter the school this time. Enough with the hiding, running and sneaking – she would have to confront the police officers directly. She took a deep breath, and starting walking towards the school gate very slowly.

Sure enough, when the police officers saw her coming, they all turned to her with hostility. Some officers were having hands on their pistols, ready to pull them out. Silver Red summoned Wooden Masamune and pointed the sword at the officers. "I have an appointment at the school's Clock Tower," she said coldly. "I have no time for you, officers. Please move away."

The officers were not moving, though. "You are not going in, Mister," said the leading inspector as he walked towards Silver Red. "We are going to rescue the hostages and arrest the criminals, and yes – we are arresting you as well."

"You are not able to go in, are you?" asked Silver Red, lowering Wooden Masamune. "Believe it or not, the school is surrounded by an invisible barrier. They would only allow one person to get through the barrier, and that person is me."

The inspector was still not moving. "You are a wanted criminal yourself," he said. "Give me one good reason to let you go, instead of arresting you on the spot!"

Silver Red sighed. "It is because it does nobody a favour," she said. "I have friends held hostage in that Clock Tower and I have to save them. You have innocent citizens to protect. We have the common enemy, who is on top of that building, so why we should stay here fighting each other while our enemy watches idly?"

The inspector did not speak.

Silver Red stepped forward once again. "No matter what you think about me," she said, "I am here to save my friends, so please don't make things more complicated for me. Just let me go, okay?"

The inspector took a step backward. He looked as if he was having a real struggle in reaching the correct decision. "When it is over," he said finally, "make sure you come back and surrender to us. Did I make myself clear?"

"I am not coming back," said Silver Red. "In fact, I don't think you would ever see me again."

The inspector swore and turned away. "Go!" he said through gritted teeth.

As Silver Red proceeded, the other police officers stepped away quietly, slowly but surely. Silver Red took a deep breath, and walked through the school gate. She was clear.

"Don't die," the inspector whispered behind Silver Red.

* * *

Back in the Clock Tower, King Midas sensed that someone was fast approaching. "The girl is coming," he said to Mikado, who grinned.

In five minutes, they heard that the elevator of the Clock Tower was activated. "Ignore it," said Mikado. "That Katsura girl has used this elevator trick once. She is using the elevator as a distraction, while she enters this room through the balcony."

"You are quite wrong," said King Midas, also grinning. "She is in the elevator. I can feel it."

"Then let's cut out the power to the elevator," said Mikado hurriedly. "This will trap her inside, and we will have her!"

"No," said King Midas as he held up his right fist. "I am going to crush her head on."

The elevator door opened, and Silver Red stepped out of it. "Here I am, King Midas!" she declared. "Let my friends go immediately, and get away from Aika-san's body!"

King Midas grinned. "So you know who I am," he said. He then pointed at the guest room, which was apparently locked. "Your friends are quite safe in that room. If you can defeat me, you can take your friends and go."

Silver Red frowned. King Midas had completely ignored her demand to leave Aika's body. It would mean that she had to hurt Aika in order to defeat King Midas, but how could she do such things to her friend's body…?

"Ironic, isn't it?" said King Midas. "You were able to fight me when you misunderstood me as your friend. Now that you know the truth, you simply couldn't fight me, right?"

Silver Red thought hard for a moment. "I am sorry, Aika-san," she whispered. "I guess I have no choice…"

And she dashed towards King Midas with Wooden Masamune held high…

* * *

"How's it, Hayate?" asked Nagi. "Can you see anything?"

"No, milady," replied Hayate. "I am not seeing any better than you do!"

Hayate and Nagi were watching TV at home. The kidnapping of the Student Council was such a big news that TV stations had decided to live broadcast the rescue mission by Silver Red. Helicopters were sent to Hakuou Academy, but the invisible barrier set by King Midas meant that they could not enter the school territory. They could barely manage to capture the balcony of the Clock Tower from outside of the school, and for the moment there was nothing to be seen.

News flashes proved to be more informative than the visuals of the Clock Tower. The announcer had just informed the audience that Silver Red had managed to get into the school area, though he admitted that nobody had any further information on the progress of the rescue mission.

Things changed very suddenly, and Nagi screamed. She saw a human figure flying out of the balcony, and falling down the Clock Tower…

"Silver Red!" she shouted.

* * *

Silver Red was indeed knocked out of the balcony. With all her might, she managed to flip her body in the air, so that she faced the Clock Tower. She then threw Wooden Manamune at the Tower wall, in an attempt to nail herself to the wall, thus stopping the fall. She slipped a further five metres, but she managed to stay in mid-air.

"_Oh my God!_" she thought to herself as she panted very heavily. "_He is indeed very powerful. I could barely dodge his attacks, let alone attacking him! What am I going to do?_" She then remembered how Hayate defeated him, with the same sword, with relative ease. "_So it means I am a lot less powerful than Hayate-kun as a fighter, huh?_"

She looked up at the balcony. "_What are you thinking, Hinagiku?_" she thought to herself. "_It is not the time to give up yet!_" She took several deep breaths, and started climbing the wall. "I_t is now me who is trying to save my friends! I must do what I can!_"

* * *

"Come on!" said Nagi through gritted teeth. "Come on, Silver Red!"

Hayate looked at his young lady, and then turned his head back to the television. "_What kind of determination is this, Mr. Silver Red?_" he thought in awe as he saw Silver Red struggling to climb to the balcony. "_Why are you doing this? What makes you work so hard for us? Who are you?_"

He wished he was there to help Silver Red. However, with his primary mission to protect Nagi, he simply could not leave her at the moment. It was not a proper occasion to take another night's off…

* * *

Silver Red was almost completely exhausted as she reached the balcony again. Her limbs were sour and tired, her mind unable to focus, and she found her vision partially blocked – it appeared that her helmet was cracking.

"I must say, I am very impressed that you could still stay alive," she could hear King Midas talking. "I think even that young butler would have been killed."

"Your… full power?" asked Silver Red weakly. It wasn't that she wanted to sound weak…

"Yes," said King Midas. "I had Tennonsu Athena with me back in Athens, but even her raw powers were not comparable to a King's Jewel and a fully cooperating Aika. I could only use 20% of my full power back then, but now I can use 50%."

"_That's 50%?_" Silver Red thought. "_You are kidding me!_"

"Now I am one final step away from restoring my full power, and I need you for this purpose."

"Why…?" asked Silver Red. "Why me?"

King Midas grinned. "Ask this question in Hell!"

* * *

Nagi screamed and buried her head in Hayate's chest. She couldn't bear to watch what was shown on the TV screen.

An enormous arm emerged from the balcony, grabbing Silver Red in mid-air. Suddenly, the helmet of Silver Red cracked down, showing the face of a young girl. Her ponytail loosened, and a mane of pink air danced in the air. Hayate looked at the face in shocked: it was Hinagiku's face, but now it looked lifeless. Tears began to drop from Hayate's horrified eyes.

"HINAGIKU-SAN!" he shouted at the top of his voice.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Chapter 16: Do not worry about the settings, just read**_

Hinagiku did not even know that she had been defeated, or had her identity exposed to the world. She had lost consciousness during the fight with King Midas, who was in the form of Aika, surrounded by dark aura. Part of the aura took form in a giant black arm, which was holding Hinagiku's entire body in mid-air just outside the balcony.

King Midas grinned. He had captured the girl he needed, and he can now proceed with his plan. Using Aika's real arm, King Midas reached for an amulet in her dress pocket – it was a King's Jewel. He held the aura arm closer to himself, so that Hinagiku was within reach of Aika's arms. He then put the amulet around Hinagiku's neck.

"You all keep saying that you need negative emotions and a King's Jewel to enter the Royal Garden," he said to Mikado. "While the King's Jewel is necessary, the better candidate to open the Garden Gate is its owner."

"So that would be this Katsura girl, right?" said Mikado, grinning. "Aika thought that she could replace this Katsura girl as Student Council President, thus becoming the owner of the Garden Gate. To be frank, things would be a lot easier if she succeeded, and this girl might not end up being crushed by you."

"This Aika girl is still too sentimental," said King Midas coldly. "She has made all these troubles with no results at all. Obviously you can't leave anything this important to girls."

"But we are finally here," whispered Mikado. "Let's proceed and get what we want."

King Midas moved Hinagiku to the middle of her office. Suddenly the King's Jewel began to glow in blue light. A beam of the light then shot out of the jewel, drawing an arc out of thin air. The arc then glowed on its own, and a portal was created.

"So here we are, the Royal Garden…" said Mikado in awe. "Sorry for the wait, Yukariko."

* * *

The door bell rang at the Sanzen'in Mansion. Maria was surprised that someone would be visiting them so late – 23:22 – at night, but the door had to be answered after all. It was usually the duty for Hayate, but Maria was not sure if Hayate could do it.

"Hayate-kun?" she asked tentatively.

Hayate did not answer. He was staring miserably at the television, which was still showing the Clock Tower, but now with the tagline "Silver Red Revealed to be President Katsura at Hakuou, Possibly Killed". News reporters were discussing Hinagiku's integrity as she kept denying to comment whether she was Silver Red.

"_Silver Red is… Hinagiku-san?_" Hayate kept asking himself this question, and also a few more. "_So does it mean that it Hinagiku-san herself who came to help me save A-tan? Why did she do that? Why did she hide her identity while helping me?_"

Tears filled Hayate's eyes as he repeated the questions in his head. He couldn't understand why he was crying. Was it regret? Or appreciation? Or that now that he had known the true identity of Silver Red, he felt sorry that he never had thanked Hinagiku properly for this particularly big favour?

And to think of the fact that he would not be able to see her again…

Next to him, Nagi had her head buried in Hayate's chest. There was no sound from her, and there was no thought on her mind – she simply didn't want to think at the moment, because whenever her mind started functioning, the image of Hinagiku's lifeless form would appear immediately. At the moment, it was the last thing she would want to recall.

She wasn't entirely sure what one was harder to take, the loss of her friend, or the loss of her hero.

Maria never recalled Nagi being so upset – she was not there when Nagi lost her mother. Yet Maria thought she might understand how Nagi was feeling, because she was also very depressed. She might have a very philosophical mind, but it was never easy to get through the emotions when someone close to you was taken away.

The door bell rang again. There was still work to do even though nobody was in the mood. "Okay, I'll go… answering the door, yes," Maria said as she sighed.

* * *

"What is going on here…?" Mikado said to himself in disbelief as he set foot in the Royal Garden.

It was empty. The place look exactly like what Athena had described: the stairs, the giant clock, the halls, the mirror, the rooms… yet Mikado was not interested in them. He went through the entire castle to look for something, or someone, but he found nothing.

"Yukariko?" Mikado kept shouting loudly the name of his daughter. His voice echoed through the halls, but he received no response. The entire Royal Garden was empty, hallow, lifeless… Angered and feeling betrayed, Mikado turned to King Midas, who had just entered the Royal Garden. "You lied to me!" shouted Mikado.

King Midas did not respond as he took the King's Jewel away from Hinagiku.

"You told me that Yukariko took the Power of Royalty!" shouted Mikado, who was close to tears. "You told me that as she died, her spirit would return to the Royal Garden with the Power, and I can see her again as we open the Gate! Now where is she?"

"Did I really say that?" asked King Midas as he used his aura arm to take hold of the King's Jewel. "Well, then I might have made a mistake. I apologise."

Mikado's eyes widened as he realised what had been going on. "You were merely using me!" he exclaimed.

King Midas grinned. "What a surprise, it took you so long to figure it out," he said.

Mikado forced a smile on his face. "But it is all in vain," he hissed. "We both can't find what we wanted. Yukariko is not here, and the Power of Royalty is also not here!"

"Oh, it doesn't matter for me," said King Midas sweetly. "I do not need to find the Power of Royalty here."

Mikado was confused. "W – what do you mean?" he asked.

"All I need is this," said King Midas as he showed Mikado the King's Jewel. "I have figured out the way to access the Power of Royalty through the King's Jewel. No matter where the Power of Royalty is now, I can make full use of it!."

With those words, he went out of the portal. Once he was back in the Student Council Room, the dark aura leaped out of Aika's body and landed on the school ground (Hinagiku was still held in mid-air). The blue light from the King's Jewel flowed through the aura, and something big began to take form. The arm which was grabbing Hinagiku materialised into white bones, then the body, the legs and finally the head. It looked like a giant skeleton which was as tall as the Clock Tower.

King Midas had returned to form.

* * *

"Oh, it's you, Nishizawa-san…" said Maria as she met the girl at the front gate. She couldn't hide her surprise that Ayumu was visiting them this late.

"G – good evening, Maria-san," said Ayumu in a very small voice. Maria could see that her eyes were very red.

"What is the matter for you, so late in the day?" asked Maria.

"I…" began Ayumu, but she found it very hard to say what was exactly on her mind. "I – I just want to check… if Hayate-kun and Nagi-chan are all right, now that… you know… about Hina-san…" she was actually sobbing as she mentioned Hinagiku's name.

"I see… thank you very much of your care," answered Maria. "P – please come in, I think they will be delighted to see you…"

"T – thanks, Maria-san…"

* * *

King Midas laughed out loud as he was checking his regenerated body. He then glanced at Hinagiku, who had become so tiny in his hand.

"You are of no use now, girl," he whispered. "Now die."

He squeezed her body with his giant hand. Sheering pain went through Hinagiku's body at once, and she regained consciousness as she screamed out loud.

"_I – I am going to die…_" thought Hinagiku as she opened her eyes to see the monster grabbing her. She couldn't move a single muscle to get rid of his hold – a similar experience that she had in Athens, only a lot more painful this time. The weapon in her hand was once again not able to be raised to fight…

"_The weapon…_" thought Hinagiku as she was losing consciousness again. "_Wooden Masamune… the family treasure of the Saginomiya household. I need to return it to Saginomiya-san…_" She used the last of her strength to let go of the wooden sword, which began to fall. "_Goodbye, my friend…_"

Unknown to anyone, Wooden Masamune soon began to float on its own, as if finding its way to somewhere else…

King Midas was expecting Hinagiku's body to be crushed, but suddenly he felt a repelling force in his palm. Confused, he squeezed again, this time with much more force, but then the repelling force also grew larger. He tried several more times, but no matter how hard his grip was, he could not kill Hinagiku.

"That's odd…" murmured King Midas as he became annoyed, but then he had a Plan B: he threw Hinagiku, through the balcony, into the portal. Hinagiku landed hard into the Royal Garden, faced down and still unconscious.

"From now on, you live forever in the Royal Garden, girl," said King Midas with a broad grin. He then pinched his two fingers, and the portal began to collapse as a response.

Horrified as he saw the portal closing, Mikado ran out of the Royal Garden. He confronted the face of King Midas at the balcony. "What are you doing?" he shouted.

"The world is now mine to rule," replied King Midas. "But I must first kill the one who defeated me last time."

Mikado's eyes widened. "You mean…" he began.

"Yes, the butler of your granddaughter," hissed King Midas. "And yes, I will kill her as well."

Mikado slumped to the ground as he realised how bad the situation had become for him.


	17. Chapter 17

_**Chapter 17: Attack on Midas**_

The world had barely recovered from the shock of losing Hinagiku, when it was stunned again by the appearance of a gigantic King Midas.

"P - please take a look at this, ladies and gentlemen!" exclaimed the TV news reporter on the helicopter hovering around Hakuou Academy. "Not long after Silver Red - no, Katsura Hinagiku-san - disappeared from our sight, we now see this monster appearing out of nowhere! It looks like yet another Ultraman show, but I can confirm this to be real with my very own eyes!"

The camera captured the face of King Midas, which resembled a huge skull. Without any muscle, King Midas was unable to show facial expressions. One couldn't even tell where he was looking at. The only thing anyone knew was that he was moving - very slowly - away from Hakuou Academy, yet nobody but Mikado knew his next destination.

"Look at the size of this mysterious skeleton!" exclaimed the reporter as the helicopter tried to stay away from King Midas. "This is the monster Katsura-san was fighting against just a while ago, alone. Surely we admire her courage, but we could also understand why she was defeated…"

Hayate's heart sank as he heard those words. His guilt towards Hinagiku kept on multiplying, and he found his heart so heavy that it became more and more difficult to breathe. "_Why didn't I go and help Hinagiku-san?_" he kept asking himself. The fact that he had found out her identity as Silver Red too late was so unbearable...

"Nagi, Hayate-kun," there came the voice of Maria, who was accompanying Ayumu. "Nishizawa-san has come for a visit. A - at least give her a greeting, please?"

Neither Hayate nor Nagi responded.

"I - it is fine, Maria-san," whispered Ayumu. "I can understand how they feel. After all…"

Maria turned to Ayumu as she did not finish her sentence, and sighed as she saw Ayumu began to cry. She didn't need Ayumu to finish her sentence any more.

"_After all, we have just lost our best friend._"

* * *

King Midas looked around. Now that he was at his full power, he could sense where Hayate was from such a long distance. Yet killing Hayate was not the only thing in his mind, because he had yet another - arguably more important - goal: to bring this world under his control. Even he knew that he couldn't do these two things at the same time when he was alone. Impossible things would remain impossible no matter how powerful he was.

King Midas raised his right hand and pointed at above. A bright beam of light shot into the sky from his index finger, split into thousands and thousands of weaker beams like firework. The beams landed onto the Hakuou campus and materialised into different kinds of monsters of human heights.

"Go, my army," whispered King Midas, but he spoke louder and louder as he addressed the monsters he just summoned, "conquer every road, every street, every block and every house. Show no mercy to anyone who resists you. Make this areas our territory: our new empire starts here!"

One of the monsters, which looked like a man in dark tight suits with a strange mask, pointed his sword ahead and yelled: "Charge!" All the other monsters let out a loud roar as they began to move in every direction. Soon enough, the army flooded into the district and began their destruction. People were beaten up or driven out of the houses. Buildings were torn apart. The city, starting with a small corner near Hakuou Academy, began to burn. Screams of agony could be heard everywhere.

King Midas watched the chaos he and his army caused with deep satisfaction. "_Now,_" he thought to himself, "_I should go and find that butler boy myself._"

* * *

Maria frowned as she watched the mass persecution on TV - the news crew were still dutifully broadcasting the events of the night. She knew full well that it was not the time to sit down and do nothing.

"We have to move, Hayate-kun," she said to Hayate, but her eyes were still on the TV. We need to take Nagi to the bunker!"

Hayate didn't respond. He had hardly ever moved a muscle ever since Hinagiku disappeared from his sight. His mind was almost empty, but he did not dare filling it up with anything, because as he started using his brain, he would recall the very moment he lost Hinagiku…

"Hayate-kun!" Maria called him again, this time a little more desperately. She didn't expect Hayate to be so out of touch with reality, but instead sinking so deep into his own emotions. She thought of giving him a slap or two in the face, but as she realised the reason he was so upset, she thought she couldn't blame him too much either…

Ayumu, though, had another thought. "Please leave it to me, Maria-san," she whispered to Maria, before approaching Hayate. Then, to Maria's shock, Ayumu grabbed Hayate by his collar, pulling him towards her. And then, to Maria's horror, Ayumu slapped Hayate in the face.

"Pull yourself together now, Hayate-kun!" Ayumu shouted in Hayate's face. "Your duty is to protect Nagi-chan, remember? Now wake up and carry out your duty!"

Hayate smiled weakly. "Why do I have to do my job," he whispered, "when Hinagiku-san is killed?"

Ayumu slapped him again, this time on the other side of his face. "Hina-san did her job!" she shouted, now very close to tears again. "She protected us until the last of her breath! She will get angry if she knows that you have given up this early!"

These words rang in Hayate's mind like the alarm bell. He became a little more focused, and looked straight at Ayumu with his eyes.

"Hina-san died protecting us," said Ayumu, now started sobbing, "so please do not give yourself up this easily, Hayate-kun. Do not let Hina-san die in vain…"

Hayate was alarmed. He stood up so quickly that he accidentally knocked Ayumu to the ground. Ayumu was about to retort, but then she saw Hayate's face shining with determination again. She was so glad to see him regaining senses, that she forgot about the pain of being knocked to the ground.

"Thank you very much, Nishizawa-san," said Hayate, now smiling. "Now I know what I must do!"

* * *

As Hayate brought Nagi, Ayumu and Maria to the bunker, other people in the Sanzen'in Mansion were busy as well. Klaus the Head Butler was giving orders to the SPs, who were - in their own words - "going military". They were indeed given military training just for occasions like this.

"SP Team One, activate the 'Fortress Mode'!" shouted Klaus.

"Yes, sir!" shouted the corresponding team, which was now in the Central Command Room. They input the necessary commands and passwords, and then weird things (according to Ayumu) happened: think metal walls emerged from the garden, surrounding the main Sanzen'in Mansion building. Near 200 cannons emerged from the walls, pointing outwards in all directions. The Sanzen'in Mansion has indeed turned into a fortress.

"SP Teams Two to Two Hundred, take charge of every single cannon!" shouted Klaus. "SP Teams 201 to 400, reload the cannons and supply all other backups!"

"Yes, sir!" roared all the SPs as they rushed to their positions. They were so efficient and disciplined, that they could well be better than any army on the planet."

Klaus looked satisfied as the SP Teams acted on his orders. "_Well, no doubt the government would find all these illegal and even dangerous,_" he thought. "_But our first priority is always to protect Nagi our lady. Come to think of it, handling the government could actually be easier than this._"

* * *

"Unknown creature in sight! Fire!"

"Bang! Bang!"

"Reload! Reload!"

It took no time for the army of King Midas to take control of the district area, so the monsters quickly headed towards the Sanzen'in Mansion. Although King Midas had instructed that the Sanzen'in family members should be left to him, every monster thought that it would never be a bad idea to capture them alive for their king. From far away, King Midas saw his army well, but he had no intention to give any new instructions or restrictions.

As hundreds and hundreds of monsters gathered around the Sanzen'in Mansion, it became harder and harder to fight them off. Some monsters managed to get as close as 10 metres from the walls before finally getting shot down. No one from the SP Teams made a single comment, but everyone understood that it was only a matter of time before some monsters finally broke through the defence.

"This won't do," said Hayate, who was watching the battle in the bunker. "I'll go help with defending!"

Nagi, who had been sitting absent-mindedly, suddenly raised her head. "W - where are you going, Hayate?"

"I have to go to the frontline, milady," said Hayate. "Don't worry, I'll keep you safe."

As Hayate headed towards the door, Nagi panicked. "N - no, no! Don't leave me, Hayate! I am begging you…"

Hayate stopped for a moment, but he did not turn his head back. "I'll keep you safe, milady," he finally managed to say before leaving.

Nagi watched as the back of Hayate disappeared from her sight. Her heart screamed for him to stay, but she couldn't make a sound.

* * *

As Hayate arrived at the frontline, he could feel that the battle had become even more intense than before. The ground was trembling under his feet so fiercely that he was barely able to stand.

Yet it was not the time for him to stand back.

As Hayate made his first step towards the oncoming monsters, he noticed something was flying slowly towards him. The thing finally landed in front of him. Hayate looked down and saw that it was a wooden katana - it was Wooden Masamune.

Hayate picked the sword up and was apparently lost in his own thoughts again. It seemed he didn't notice that a monster was coming his way.

"I am sorry, Hinagiku-san, for being so ignorant to your identity as Silver Red for so long," he whispered, and then he moved - so quickly and so suddenly - and sliced the monster into halves.

"From now, I will do what you have been doing until the last of my breath!" he said, this time very loudly as he pointed Wooden Masamune at the monsters. "I will protect the people you loved, with the very sword you have been using. Hopefully, I can meet you proudly in the other world, where you are in now!"

With that, Hayate dashed towards the monsters for what he perceived as the final battle of his life.


	18. Chapter 18

_**Chapter 18: There are two kinds of battles: physical and mental**_

Klaus was surprised to see Hayate on the frontline, rushing towards the monsters.

"What does that boy think he is doing out there?" he exclaimed. Then he witnessed what Hayate was doing: one after one, he slashed the monsters. His presence in the defence meant that no monster that came directly at him could get past. He was like a dam which split a river into two streams. As the monsters could only move past Hayate in two narrower streams, they became easier for the cannons to aim at.

Klaus could see that much, and he gave new orders straight away: "Cannons No. 1 to 100, fire at the monsters on the left. Cannons No. 101 to 199, fire at the monsters on the right. Do not engage those in the middle. Leave them to Hayate, and try not to fire at him by mistake!"

"Yes, sir!"

Although he had his mind on slashing the monsters right in front of him, Hayate knew full well what was going on beside and behind him. "_So they are not taking down the monsters for me, huh?_" he thought to himself. "_I don't think I am as good as a hundred cannons!_"

In fact, he had started panting – although still quite lightly. "_I wonder how long I could take on them alone. It would be much better if I had help…_"

Suddenly there came a female voice: "I heard you needed help, boy!"

Surprised, Hayate looked around but he saw nobody. Suddenly, rays of chains shot out from everywhere, piercing through the monsters and throwing them into the air. The chains then reverted into the sleeves of a very short woman with silver hair, who also wore a mask.

"G – great Mrs. Saginomiya!" exclaimed Hayate as he recognised it was Saginomiya Ginka. "What are you doing here?"

"Believe it or not, I am here to save the world!" said Ginka with a girlish voice, although she was actually a very old woman. "If the Sanzen'in defence line cannot hold these monsters back, then King Midas would conquer Japan in no time. He would then start invading other countries, and finally he would rule the entire world!"

"That can't happen!" shouted Hayate as he kept on fighting. "We have to stop them here!"

"So this is why I have decided to come and help you!" shouted Ginka as she eliminated another group of monsters with her chains. "If only Isumi-chan was here as well…"

"Isumi-san?" asked Hayate. "Where is she now?"

"How would I ever know?" exclaimed Ginka.

* * *

In the same way as we wake up from a deep sleep, Hinagiku wasn't sure how she had regained consciousness. All she knew was that, she suddenly started thinking.

"_It is still dark here. Oh, don't be stupid, Hinagiku. It is still dark because you haven't opened your eyes yet._"

"_So I am still asleep, huh? What time is it now? What date is today? I guess I have to go to school, right? Ah… I am still so sleepy. I wish it isn't 5 o'clock yet, so that I can sleep for – what – 15 minutes more? Sometimes I don't want to hear the wake-up alarm…_"

"_Oh, my arms hurt, my legs hurt, my entire body hurts. What has happened to me? Did I get into a fight with someone? No, no, that's impossible, Hinagiku. You have promised yourself not to get into fights with others so easily because it is not girly enough, remember?_"

"_Yet I did fight against some people lately. I fought against Fukada-kun. I saved Nagi and Aizawa-san. I fought Aika-san. I was defeated by a giant… No, no, the final one is ridiculous. It is superstitious, and that can't be possible. I must have been dreaming…_"

"_But was I really dreaming? Was I dreaming, or am I dreaming now? If I was dreaming, why does my body hurt? If I am dreaming now, why am I not seeing a thing? Am I awake or asleep? Which one is true? I need to see. I need to -_ "

With that, she opened her eyes with all her might. The first thing she saw was a pair of eyes, which came so close to hers that she was almost unable to determine what they really were. Hinagiku was thoroughly shocked. "WAAAAAAAHHH!" she screamed out loudly.

The pair of eyes were apparently shocked by her screaming, and they retreated backwards. Now Hinagiku could see better: the pair of eyes belonged to Saginomiya Isumi.

"Geez. Please don't be so rude, Student Council President," said Isumi as she frowned, with a sleeve covering her mouth. "I was trying to heal you."

Hinagiku panted heavily as she tried to calm down. "Oh, thank you very much," she finally said. "But I think you don't have to come this close to my face, do you?"

"I had to," said Isumi, as calm as ever. "The injury to your body was so severe that my hand power alone didn't work, so I had to use my eye power as well."

Hinagiku was confused. "E – eye power?"

"Yes, Student Council President," said Isumi. "As I stared into your eyes, I infused my power which helped to heal your upper body. My hand power was used to heal your lower body."

There was a short pause as Hinagiku tried hard to understand.

"If I wasn't opening my eyes," she finally began, hesitantly, "how did you manage to stare into them?"

Isumi turned her back on Hinagiku. "That you do not need to know."

"Hmm…" Hinagiku had the feeling that Isumi was merely bluffing, but she wouldn't make another comment on that. She tried moving her body, but it took her a lot of efforts as she was still weak and in pain. Panting slightly as she finally managed sitting up, she began looking around, and was instantly fascinated by her surroundings. "So, where are we? What has happened to us?"

"You were defeated by King Midas, and he banished you in here, the Royal Garden."

Hinagiku was alarmed. "The Royal Garden? The place where…"

"… the Chairperson and Hayate-sama once lived, yes."

"So I did fight against this King Midas, and what he wanted was…"

"… to open the Garden Gate to here, yes."

"I see…" said Hinagiku. However, there were still a lot of things she did not understand. Yet, as there were so many of them, she didn't even know where to start asking question, so she started with the most obvious question…

"So I was banished in here," she asked, "but what about you, Saginomiya-san? How did you come in?"

Isumi did not answer, but another voice came to her aid.

"Well, we were following you, so we also entered the Student Council Room as you fought against that big guy. I told Isumi-san to engage King Midas when he threw you in here, but this girl decided to walk through the portal, so we ended up being locked in here with you, President."

Hinagiku turned to the voice and saw Aizawa Sakuya. "Hello, Aizawa-san," she said.

"At least I was not getting lost this time," said Isumi smugly. "I entered here on purpose."

"Hello to you as well," said Sakuya brightly, ignoring Isumi ("Geez, Sakuya!"). "By the way, please call me by my first name, President."

Hinagiku blinked. "O – okay, Sakuya."

"Or, you might call me Saki instead," said Sakuya slyly. "As you always do, President (buchou)."

"Well, that would be…" began Hinagiku, but she didn't know how to finish the sentence. She never remembered calling Sakuya "Saki".

"… a reference to another series~" said the narrator, finishing the line for her.

Sakuya cleared her throat as she blushed slightly. "Anyway, would you like to take a bath first? You look… horrible."

Hinagiku looked at herself. Her suit was torn and was covered in dirt and blood. Now that Sakuya had mentioned, Hinagiku started to find herself smell…

"Well, I will fix myself later," she said finally, "but I want to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Not to worry, President," said Sakuya. "Time runs a lot slower here than in the real world, so even if you take bath for 30 minutes, you would only lose 30 seconds in the real world."

"But…"

"Imagine returning to your beautiful self in 30 seconds," said Sakuya as she leaned towards Hinagiku. "It is worth it, isn't it?"

Hinagiku thought hard as her two wishes – getting out and taking a bath – were in a thermonuclear war. "O – okay," she said finally. "I would take a bath first."

So the girly side of her won.

* * *

Nagi was watching the closed-circuit television in the bunker, which showed the battle above them. She watched as monsters were blown away. She also watched as Hayate and Ginka kept on killing the monsters, whose bodies vanished once they were killed. Tears suddenly began to ran down her cheeks.

"Nagi-chan?" asked Ayumu, who was right beside her. "What is it?"

"Hey, Hamster," said Nagi as she began to sob, "do you think this is a punishment from God?"

"W – what are you talking about?" asked Ayumu, alarmed but confused.

"I should have sent Hayate to help Hinagiku at Hakuou," whispered Nagi. "But I didn't. Now Hinagiku is killed, and sooner or later Hayate would fall to the monsters. Is God punishing me for my selfishness, by taking the people who are precious to me away?"

Ayumu's eyes were filled with tears as she heard those words. She took a step towards Nagi and hugged her.

"Don't be ridiculous, Nagi-chan!" she said as she began to sob as well. "Hayate-kun will be fine! You have to trust him! I am sure that God would not be so cruel to punish you in this way!"

Maria watched and sighed as the two girls cried in each other's arms. "_If God has mercy on us,_" she thought, "_could He please return Hinagiku-san to us?_"

* * *

Hinagiku finished her bath in about 30 minutes. She felt refreshed, even though her body still hurt here and there.

"You take bath with precise timing, President!" exclaimed Sakuya as she saw Hinagiku. "And wow, you look quite nice in that outfit."

Hinagiku blushed slightly as she checked herself again. She was wearing a white t-shirt, a pair of blue shorts and a pair of black shoes. "Well, I am glad that you don't find this too bad. There would be a fight out there, and I think this is a more convenient outfit than dresses or skirts."

Sakuya let out a sigh. "Well, you have a point, but we still need to get out of here before you could enter the fight," she said.

She then turned to Isumi. "Can you do something, Isumi-san?" she asked.

"Well… " began Isumi, who suddenly looked very serious. "If anyone could do something, it is you, Student Council President, not me."

"Me?" asked Hinagiku, totally confused. "I don't have any special powers like you do, Saginomiya-san. How am I supposed to do anything about this place?"

"Isn't it obvious?" said Isumi. "Shirosakura."


	19. Chapter 19

_**Chapter 19: Shouting out loud doesn't mean that you are determined enough**_

"Shirosakura?" asked Hinagiku, puzzled. "But I thought it was destroyed."

"Well, yes and no," said Isumi. "It was broken – dead, you might say – during your battle against Kurotsubaki, but I have explained the situation clearly to you here."

There was a short pause.

"Em… Saginomiya-san?" began Hinagiku, uncertain if she was being rude. "Please do not use hyperlinks in your dialogue. You see, I don't have the device to click on them…"

"Ah, I apologise," answered Isumi, who remained calm – in fact, Hinagiku had the feeling that Isumi sounded triumphant. "I have been building up my iPower lately, and I am glad that you recognise my hyperlink. That means I have successfully created one."

"Oh yeah, congratulations," said Hinagiku dully, as she was not that eager in congratulating Isumi. "So can you please make your explanation again?"

"Of course," replied Isumi. "As I said before, Shirosakura has not gone. Instead, it has been living inside you, feeding on your sense of justice to return to full form and power. When you face another situation which requires you to do justice with it, it will come back to life again."

"Oh yes, now I remember," said Hinagiku. "So, are you saying that it has come back to life?"

"Not yet, but very close," said Isumi. "You have done quite a lot of heroics lately, Student Council President. Your latest actions have driven Shirosakura to grow significantly. It is almost ready to be reborn."

"Wait a minute," Hinagiku interrupted, as she had something to ask. "What makes you think that Shirosakura is ready to be reborn?"

"It has protected you from being crushed by King Midas," said Isumi simply. "That was the power within you that repelled his grip. Now, what you need to do is to complete its revival, and unleash its power to open the Garden Gate again. This is the only way for us to leave this place."

"And how do I complete its revival?"

"You have to show your determination, Student Council President," said Isumi. "You have to summon Shirosakura as you used to do so, but also show your determination to use the sword to do justice. If your determination could be delivered to Shirosakura, it would respond to your summons, and materialise once again in your hands."

"That's it?" asked Hinagiku, who sounded relieved. "That would be easy!"

She held out her hand, took a deep breath, focused her mind, and then shouted: "ARRRRRRRGGGGG!"

A small lightning bolt shot out of Hinagiku's hands. Isumi sensed the presence of high-level energy, and she turned sharply to Hinagiku to see more closely. A moment later, the bolt disappeared as Hinagiku was knocked back onto the ground.

"Did she fail?" asked Sakuya, who had no idea what had happened.

"Yes, she failed," replied Isumi, who suddenly looked very serious. "It appears that she is not determined enough."

"W – what?" asked Hinagiku, who was slightly panting. Apparently she had taken some hard efforts in order to summon Shirosakura. "What do you mean, I am not determined enough?"

"It seems that we have to find out about it," said Isumi.

"Come to think of it," said Sakuya, who began scratching her head, "why does everyone think that they could show their determination through shouting?"

* * *

Most people were not aware about it, but the other Student Council members were still locked in the guest room right next to Hinagiku's office. They had no access to the outside world – the windows were all magically concealed by King Midas. It meant that they had no idea what had happened, especially that their President was defeated by their kidnapper.

Meanwhile, they had suffered quite an ordeal themselves, and it was depressing enough that Miki, Risa, Izumi and Masumi were all crying. Chiharu tried extremely hard to contain herself, but her eyes were wet and red. Sharna had her eyes closed, and went into absolute silence. Only Fumi was her usual hyperactive and outspoken self.

"Ah! Sharna-chan! Sharna-chan!" she shouted. "Why isn't everyone coming to save Fumi yet? Fumi has been trapped here for so long!"

Sharna did not answer her, nor did any other girl.

"And all of you, enough of this!" Fumi shouted again as she paced around the room. "Stop crying already! You are all annoying Fumi!"

"Leave them alone, they are all very upset," said Chiharu for the first time since she was locked here. "And I thought you escaped."

"I did!" shouted Fumi. Chiharu was relieved that at least she had started talking about herself, instead of the others. "But I didn't go very far before someone grabbed me from behind! Whoever did that to me better hope that Fumi would never find out who he is, because I am going to turn him into ashes."

"No, you are not," said Chiharu, the corner of her mouth twitching. She found it amazing that she had a laugh to fight back, despite the dark mood they were in. Chiharu looked around the room and was even more impressed: the other girls had stopped crying, while Sharna began watching them in mild interest. Perhaps there was something really special about this girl, Hibino Fumi…

Suddenly, they heard a loud bang at the door. The girls turned and saw that the door was shaking. It certainly meant that someone was trying to knock the door down. And then… "CRASH!"

The door fell apart, and the girls saw – through very dim light – a young man in butler uniform walking towards them.

"H – Hayata-kun?" asked Izumi uncertainly as she stood up, her heart beating very fast. "Or are you Kotetsu-kun?"

"I am neither," replied the young man calmly. "My name is Machina, and I am Athena's butler."

"Athena?" asked Miki, as she stood up as well. "Do you mean…"

"Yes, it is me," there came a voice from behind Machina, and in came a young woman with red eyes and blonde curly hair. It was, of course, Tennousu Athena. "Is everybody all right?"

"Y – yes, we are, Chairperson," replied Miki, who was in awe of Athena's beauty and elegance. "T – thanks for coming for us."

"Only thank me when you are safe," said Athena calmly. "We have an issue here. I know that you would all want to leave this place as soon as possible, but it is currently… chaotic outside. You might not believe me, but it is actually safer to stay here, so…"

"Sorry for interrupting, but we are not staying here, Chairperson," said Chiharu firmly. "If it really is chaotic outside, we would want to do whatever we can to help."

"Don't be silly!" exclaimed Athena. "It is not some small-scale demonstration. It is a war we are talking about here! I can't allow you to go out and fight them!"

"We are not fighting them head on, of course," said Chiharu, who began to smile. "But if we need a defence line, we as the Student Council could help with organising one – with the army, of course."

Athena did not speak immediately, but took Chiharu's offer into consideration.

"The school campus is safe," she said finally. "But you have to be very careful, as you don't have a bodyguard…"

"HINA!" there came a very loud voice from Hinagiku's office. The students all recognised that it belonged to Yukiji, Hinagiku's elder sister. "I have run out of money, so lend me some more!"

As Yukiji entered the guest room, the students all frowned. She had a very red face, her breath smelt of alcohol, and she couldn't stand up straight. She was holding a can of beer in her right hand, and she kept pouring herself with the content of the can. Clearly, she was drunk.

"Well," began Athena, trying to sound casual, "you have got your bodyguard."

"Em… Chairperson?" asked Chiharu, uncertainly. "I mean no offence, but couldn't you or your butler stay with us?"

Athena shook her head. "We have to do our part for the war, so we cannot stay with you."

"I – is that so?" asked Miki, sounding depressed.

"Yes, it is," replied Athena. She then walked towards Yukiji. "Not to worry, I will make sure she has a clear enough mind to keep you safe in the campus."

"By the way, do you have any news about Hina, Chairperson?" asked Miki. "Is she all right?"

Athena closed her eyes for a moment. "Well," she said as she began enchanting Yukiji, "just do you own job."

* * *

"So you are saying that I wasn't able to revive Shirosakura because I was not determined enough?" asked Hinagiku in utter disbelief. "No way!"

"But the fact is that you were still one step away from summoning Shirosakura," said Isumi. "If you couldn't summon it, then it means that you are not determined enough."

"B – but I had my mind completely focused on summoning Shirosakura, I swear!" protested Hinagiku, who suddenly sounded like a little child. "Something must have gone wrong here!"

Isumi took some serious consideration for a moment. "Well," she said finally, "it could be about your subconsciousness."

"My… subconsciousness?" asked Hinagiku. She had basic ideas on the definition of "subconsciousness", but she never really believed in it. Rather, she had considered it "superstitious" and did not take it very seriously. Yet, recently she had started thinking that, if she could summon swords out of thin air, there should be nothing that was "superstitious" at all.

"Yes, Student Council President," said Isumi, who had no idea what Hinagiku thought about subconsciousness. "Even if you were consciously determined enough, there could be something in your subconsciousness – something that you are not aware of – that stops you from being as determined as you thought."

"Fine," said Hinagiku, with an air suggesting that she was forced to accept defeat. "So how do I get rid of it?"

"We have to undergo a thorough assessment of your mind, in order to find out the cause of your lack in determination."

"A – a thorough assessment?" repeated Hinagiku uncertainly. She wasn't even sure if Isumi was qualified to make such assessment.

"Not to worry, it is not as scientific as you might expect, but I am sure that it is very practical. First I would want you to try summoning Shirosakura again."

Hinagiku nodded. There was no point to argue, anyway.

"When the Student Council President is focusing her mind, I would like Sakuya to start asking her questions, starting with 'Why do you want to summon Shirosakura?'. Student Council President, you must answer her questions – better without thinking. Then, Sakuya should question the Student Council President further based on the answers she gives, until we find out what is wrong with her determination."

Sakuya gasped. "It sounds difficult, Isumi-san!" she exclaimed.

"Not to worry," said Isumi confidently as she patted Sakuya on her shoulder. "I am sure that you can do it. So…" she turned to Hinagiku again. "Let's begin, shall we?"

Hinagiku nodded, and she began holding out her hand and focusing her mind. "AARRRRGGG!" Lightning bolts started dancing in her hands again.

Sakuya took a deep breath – she was clearly nervous. "Okay, so… why do you want to summon Shirosakura?"

"It is because I want to get out of this place with it!" answered Hinagiku, who thought that the whole thing was stupid.

_Is her motive wrong?_ "So… why do you want to get out of here?"

"It is because I want to defeat that King Midas!"

_Is her hatred of King Midas not justified?_ "Why do you want to defeat him? Are you seeking revenge?"

"No! By the looks of it he is going to hurt my friends, so I have to go and save them!"

_Has she not decided whom she is trying to save?_ "What friends are you talking about?"

"Hayate-kun and Nagi, of course!"

_Has she not made clear to herself why she wants to save Nagi?_ "Why do you want to save them?"

"I care about them, and I want them to be happy!"

_Oh, I really can't find what's wrong with her mind._ "Well…"

"But what about you, Student Council President?" asked Isumi, interrupting the conversation. "Are you happy with saving them?"

"What…" Hinagiku began, but she hesitated. She did not know why, but she had no answer to that question. The lightning bolts disappeared, and Hinagiku was knocked back onto the ground. Again.

Isumi covered her mouth with a sleeve. "So I guess we know what is going wrong here," she said.


	20. Chapter 20

_**Chapter 20: Fly High (Again)**_

Hinagiku stared blankly at her trembling hands. Isumi's question had hit her like a thunderstruck.

"W – why did I react so badly to your question? I – it doesn't mean…?"

Isumi nodded. "It certainly means that you are unhappy with saving them, yes."

Hinagiku jumped in rage. "This is nonsense!" she shouted. "They are my friends! Why would I be unhappy saving them?"

"You might convince yourself otherwise," said Isumi, "but your subconscious won't lie. Deep down in your heart, you are unhappy."

"I – I don't understand," said Hinagiku weakly. "I have been taught to help other people, and I suppose I have always been doing it. What is it that would make my subconscious think otherwise?"

"Perhaps," began Isumi, who suddenly started talking very slowly, "it is the fact that your hard work has never paid off well."

"What do you mean?"

"You see, we might not consciously think about it, but we always subconsciously assess whether we have got the results we desire. We may justify our actions in whatever way, but in the end we are all subconsciously concerned whether we are happy or not. After all, we are all selfish, Student Council President."

"So what are you trying to say?" asked Hinagiku, a little more hostile than she had intended. "That I feel sad for doing things I think are right?"

"No, I am saying that you have had a horrible time ever since Golden Week," said Isumi reasonably. "More specifically, since the night you went to save the Chairperson and Hayate-sama, but you could only leave in silence while they were reunited. I know you tried to contain your emotions, but you were crying back then, weren't you?"

Hinagiku sighed. She had tried hard not to think about that night, but as Isumi raised the issue, she felt her heart ache again.

"As you already know, Hayate-sama never figured out you were – and still are – Silver Red, so he never really thanked you for saving his life, and as such…"

"No, no, wait a minute please, Isumi-san," interrupted Sakuya, who was frowning. "It was just… one incident, wasn't it? How could that change the President's determination to do good? Surely Hayate has given thanks to her often enough in other cases?"

"Unfortunate, it is not just one incident, Sakuya," said Isumi. "Don't you remember that day in Heaven in a Place on Earth, when the President protested how Hayate-sama had mistreated her?"

Hinagiku blushed furiously. "W – what's with that, 'mistreated'? Please don't use such a misleading word! Hayate-kun only…"

"… took your hand in order to remember Nagi, didn't explain to you what was going on, and left you alone in the house when he got it wrong," said Isumi. "I see."

Hinagiku's heart sank. "Well, I must say I was quite upset about it…" she admitted.

"And then you went into action again as Silver Red. Yet despite saving Nagi and Sakuya, you are still considered by the public as a threat to social security. You have served the school without reservation as Student Council President, yet students have tried to vote you out of office just because you supported someone whom they thought should not be supported. You have contributed heavily to the series, providing fanservices and singing anime songs and everything, yet there are so many readers who hate you and want you out of the series."

"That sounds horribly stupid, Isumi-san," murmured Sakuya.

"But that's the fact," said Isumi. "Do you want some hyperlinks as proof?"

"No, thanks…"

"Anyway, you have gone through a lot of things recently, Student Council President," said Isumi. "I think that none of these things alone could have had much effect on you, but as they came too many and too frequently, I think you have subconsciously started to doubt if it actually worths it to do all the hard work without being substantially rewarded."

"I…" began Hinagiku weakly, who suddenly felt she was blamed too harshly, "I wasn't looking for rewards for all those things. I was just…"

"Yes, I understand that you were merely unhappy, nothing more," said Isumi. "But it is exactly this unhappiness that has restrained you from summoning Shirosakura. You must sort your own feelings out, or…"

"Or?" repeated Hinagiku tentatively.

"Or we would all be stuck in this place for the rest of our lives," replied Isumi. "Don't worry, food and other resources will never run out, so we could support ourselves for 1000 years if we have to."

"Don't be kidding, I have to get out of this place!" said Hinagiku, suddenly regaining some determination. "So please tell me what I should do with my unhappiness."

"Well, you might begin by asking yourself a very practical question," said Isumi. "Why would you want to give up on staying safe in the Royal Garden, and return to the dangerous and chaotic outside world?"

* * *

Hayate and Ginka were still fighting the army of demons, which kept on coming from every direction. Hayate and Ginka did not even have time to consider the fact that the army was increasing in number, as they were already too busy fighting them.

Hayate glanced at Ginka from time to time. She was still doing fine – much better than he was, actually – but he knew that she couldn't keep on for too long. When she finally ran out of power, then…

"What are you doing, kid?" demanded Ginka, who noticed that Hayate had slowed down. "Getting sleepy?"

"No, ma'am!" Hayate shouted back. "I was just checking if you have run out of power already."

"Don't be stupid!" shouted Ginka as she pierced through 8 monsters at the same time. "I have learnt my lesson in Greece, so I can alert you when I am going to collapse!"

"What is the point of that?" demanded Hayate.

"Then you can supply me with 1000 c.c. of your flesh blood immediately!"

Hayate fought back the urge to use swear word. "I'd prefer you not collapsing at all!"

On the other side of the battlefield, King Midas was watching the war as he slowly moved towards the Sanzen'in Mansion. He was grinning, as he was almost certain that as time went by, he would win eventually. The only thing was that he would prefer the "time" to be as short as possible.

"Focus on the boy," he ordered his army. "Take the wooden sword away from him, and he would become a lot weaker."

Hayate watched in disbelief as the monsters began to ignore Ginka and the Sanzen'in Mansion and run towards him. "Oh my God…" he murmured.

* * *

"Don't be ridiculous," said Hinagiku as she frowned. "If my friends are in danger out there, of course I have to go and save them!"

"Yet saving them doesn't necessarily make you happy," said Isumi. "Remember, this is not about 'knowing' what is the right thing to do, but 'persuading' yourself to do it. If your entire spirit is not willing to go and save them, if even a part of your mind hesitates, you will not be able to summon Shirosakura."

Hinagiku scratched her head. She then tried once again to summon the sword, but she wasn't doing any better. In fact, the sword did not respond at all.

"Well, well," said Sakuya suddenly, "maybe it would help if the President could see the faces of Nagi and Hayate. You know, that might help her focus."

Hinagiku shrugged. "Well, it might worth a try," she said, "but how could I see them now that we are here?"

Isumi stepped forward. "I know of a way."

She then led Hinagiku and Sakuya deep into the Royal Garden, traveling through rooms, chambers and corridors ("Are you sure we are not lost, Isumi-san?" asked Sakuya), and finally they reached a huge room, in which there was a huge circular pond.

"What is this?" asked Hinagiku, pointing at the pond.

"This is the magical mirror," said Isumi. "You can see anything you want through it. Please, come forward…"

Hinagiku was quite reserved about the "magical mirror", but she walked towards it cautiously anyway. To her surprise, it responded immediately and showed Hayate, who was surrounded by monsters.

"Well, they are all moving very slowly," said Sakuya, who didn't seem too concerned about the danger Hayate was in. "Is this mirror thing lagging?"

"No, Sakuya," said Isumi. "This is a live broadcast of the outside world, where time travels a lot slower than here, so this is why you see them moving a lot slower. By the way, what is 'lagging'?"

Hinagiku paid no attention to their conversation, but only had her eyes set on Hayate. She knew immediately that he was in huge trouble. "H – he is in grave danger!"

"Sure he is," said Isumi casually, "and I am sure that he would need your help."

"I know!" shouted Hinagiku, who then made another attempt to summon Shirosakura without success. "But why couldn't I summon the sword yet?"

"You still haven't answered yourself the question," said Isumi. "Why should you go and do something that might make yourself unhappy?"

"Well, that…"

Hinagiku looked at the mirror again, and saw that the monsters had knocked Wooden Masamune out of Hayate's hands. He then disappeared from Hinagiku's sight as the monsters began piling on him…

"What makes me more unhappy?" Hinagiku whispered as tears began filling her eyes. "Sure enough, I would be a lot more unhappy if Hayate-kun is killed!"

"President…" said Sakuya as she stepped towards Hinagiku, but Isumi held her back.

"You are right, Saginomiya-san," said Hinagiku. "I may not always gain happiness from what I have done for the others, but I think…" – her hand began glowing with the white light again – "… I would rather take a little bit of unhappiness…" – her hand began sparkling with white lightning – "… than to suffer even greater unhappiness!"

Isumi and Sakuya gazed at Hinagiku's hands, in which there was a small ball of very bright and hot energy. "Are you sure about this?" asked Isumi.

"Yes. This is the right thing to do," replied Hinagiku.

Isumi nodded. "Then please go," she said, "and do what is right."

Hinagiku grabbed the ball of energy tight with her right hand. The "ball" exploded into a mass of pink flower petals – and an elegant sword with light shade of blue.

"Let's go, partner!" she shouted as she swung Shirosakura around the Royal Garden. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!"


	21. Chapter 21

_**Chapter 21: Cuties Assemble!**_

Chiharu was pacing around the Student Council Room anxiously.

"O – okay," she said as she was moving. "So we have Katsura-sensei accompanying Izumi to restore electricity to the school campus. We also have Risa keeping an eye on (she glanced to her left) Aika-san and Director Sanzen'in. Once we have power back, we will ask Miki to contact her family to look for military support, and… and…"

She stopped and let out a heavy sigh. "What else should we do?" she cried out loudly.

"Ah, Sharna-chan! Sharna-chan!" shouted Fumi. "Did you hear her? The Secretary is ignoring Fumi! I have nothing to do, but she is not telling me to do anything!"

"I am not the Secretary any more!" Chiharu shouted back. "I am now the Vice President! I got promoted, but I am doing a poor job! I can't even think of anything for you to do!"

"Calm down, Chiharu," said Masumi gently. "I think you already have everything planned. You are doing fine."

"I am not doing fine!" said Chiharu heavily. "Hina would surely think of more… some more…"

"You are not Hina," said Masumi, still very gently, "but you are already doing a very good job."

Chiharu slumped into Hinagiku's usual chair. "Now I really understand how amazing Hina is," she said weakly. "This is hard work, but I am very sure that she would make it look easy."

Masumi smiled. "Yes, and that is why we all love and respect her, isn't it?" she said.

"Now I wonder where she is…" said Chiharu. She intended to talk more, but then a loud "crack" interrupted her.

"What's that noise?" asked Masumi, who heard it as well.

The two girls both walked very slowly towards the wall, where they believed was the source of the noise. They saw nothing wrong with the wall, until a huge crack suddenly appeared with bright white light. Pink petals of light also shot out of the crack, but as they touched the ground they simply disappeared.

"What the…" exclaimed Chiharu. She didn't have time to finish her sentence tough, as the crack began to widen so it now looked more and more like an open door. The bright light from within the "door" kept on increasing in intensity, and now it was as bright as a very strong spotlight.

Chiharu and Masumi covered their eyes with their arms, so they missed the next moment. A huge beam of light shot out of the "door", flew across the room and out of the balcony at very high speed, just like a shooting star. The light from the "door" disappeared, and everything went dark again. The very subtle difference was that two more girls were now standing against the wall.

Masumi sat on the ground in great shock. "W – what happened just now?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"Well, Sakuya can explain that to you," said one of the girls who appeared out of the wall – it was Saginomiya Isumi. "As for me, I have some other business out there."

"Are you sure you do not need me to lead you, Isumi-san?" asked the other girl, Aizawa Sakuya. "You might get lost again."

"No, I won't, Sakuya," said Isumi calmly. "How can I get lost by following the Student Council President?"

Chiharu blinked. "H – Hina?" she asked. "Did you see her?"

"Didn't you see her?" asked Sakuya, apparently surprised. "She just flew into the sky!"

* * *

Ginka suddenly realised she was fighting the monsters alone, and she was finding herself more and more outnumbered. "Where are you, boy?" she shouted.

"I – I am very busy here!" Hayate shouted at the top of his voice, while fighting the oncoming monsters with his bare hands. He found his body heavier and heavier over time, and he didn't notice that he was covered in his own blood. "I need your helping hand!"

"Don't be kidding!" cried Ginka. "I am busy here as well! How am I supposed to…"

But she was interrupted as a meteor shot into the ground, sending the monsters into the air. Even Hayate was blown a few yards away.

"What the…" Ginka screamed as she was temporarily blinded by the meteor, but as she focused her sight again, she did not see a meteor, but a young girl with pink hair in a three-point landing pose, with a sword in translucent blue supporting her weight. Ginka stood still, speechless, as the girl walked slowly towards Hayate, who was still lying on his back.

Hayate struggled to get up and see what was happening, but the first thing in his sight was a wooden sword – the very Wooden Masamune he had lost a moment ago – held by a girl's hand. He took the sword from the girl without thinking, and suddenly his body became a lot lighter. He stood on his feet, and as he saw the person who gave him Wooden Masamune, his eyes widened in shock.

"H – Hinagiku-san…" he said, his voice trembling with joy. "You are alive…"

"There is no time for sentiment, Hayate-kun," said Hinagiku, but she was smiling gently. "We have business to finish here."

Hot blood rushed into Hayate's brain. It was as if he suddenly found the motivation to live again. "Yes, ma'am!" he shouted.

The two of them stood back to back as the monsters rushed towards them again.

* * *

Ayumu was watching the television as she held Nagi in her arms. She suddenly saw some exciting development on the screen, which made her smile despite herself.

"Nagi-chan, look!" she whispered to Nagi, who was still sobbing. "Hina-san is back!"

"Don't lie to me, Hamster," Nagi murmured. "That won't make me feel any better…"

"No, just look, Nagi-chan!" said Ayumu, more loudly and eagerly.

Nagi raised her head and teary eyes and turned to the television. The tears in her eyes began dropping down, but the meaning of the tears was totally different now.

"You are right, Hamster," whispered Nagi in joy. "It really is Hinagiku!"

* * *

Ginka realised that her burden was greatly reduced. Instead of fighting a large group of monsters head-on, she now only picked up the odd ones, leaving the large group for the boy in blue and girl in pink to handle.

As two great swordsmen with two great swords, Hayate and Hinagiku formed an invincible pair against the large group of monsters. Anything that came close to their swords was reduced to dust, and if there was a computer calculating their K.O. Count, then it should read over 900 by now.

Hayate became more and more spirited now that he had Hinagiku watching his back. "It's like Athens all over again!" he shouted with a smile on his face.

"You and I remember Athens very differently," said Hinagiku coldly as she slashed another group of monsters.

Hayate didn't know what he had done to hit a brick wall, but he realised that he needed to shut up.

King Midas was watching the battle coldly as he walked towards the Sanzen'in Mansion – he was finally a few blocks away. He was annoyed by Hinagiku's sudden appearance, and the turn of the tide of the battle. "I should have tried harder killing the girl…" he whispered, but he knew that there was something to do other than regretting…

* * *

Hayate, Hinagiku and Ginka had cleared the monsters around them, while the firepower of the Sanzen'in fortress was finally able to slow the other monsters down. The three fighters on the frontline now had some time to take a breath.

Hayate took his time to check on the moves of King Midas, and saw that he had just pointed at the sky again, and an entire new army appeared out of nowhere. "Listen to me, Hinagiku-san," he said. "This battle won't end unless we defeat King Midas. Luckily he has come this close, so he really has saved a lot of work for us, but we still need to focus on attacking him rather than these small fishes!"

Hinagiku opened her mouth to respond, but someone was ahead of her. "Hayate-sama is right, Student Council President," said Isumi calmly as she walked towards them. "We can't keep on fighting forever. If we don't focus on defeating King Midas, we would lose in the end."

"I agree," said Hinagiku. "The problem is, these distractions still persist (she slashed two monsters which managed to get close to them), so it is not likely we can focus on attacking the big boss."

"Well, you just need a little more help with that," said a voice behind them. The fighters all turned and saw Athena and Machina coming. They did not look like they had fought a single monster at all.

King Midas chose this moment to laugh hysterically. His laughs were so loud that Hayate and Hinagiku had to cover their ears.

"Athena!" King Midas said finally. "Have you forgotten that I have lived inside you for a while, so that not only you cannot hurt me with your powers, but that your attacks would actually make me stronger?"

Athena turned to him and smiled. "No, I haven't," she said calmly. But I have other ways to fight your army."

She tapped her finger and called: "Machina!" The butler nodded, and duly turned into a giant serpent, snatching all the monsters directly ahead of him, and head-butted King Midas. The army of monsters was split into two halves with his one strike, and it was the first time in this long battle that King Midas was touched.

"You!" snapped King Midas as he witnessed his army taking a huge blow, while himself feeling the pain of Machina's ambush.

Machina gathered himself around his allies and hissed loudly. Ginka and Isumi came together, chains and spells respectively in their hands. Hayate rubbed his sleeve against his eyes, removing the blood covering them. Hinagiku swung Shirosakura around as warm-up exercise. Athena looked around, took a deep breath, and shouted: "Aven – "

"No, no, A-tan!" cried Hayate in horror. "That's copyright violation!"

Athena blinked. "What? I can't use that phrase?"

"No!' exclaimed Hayate. "Please think of something else!"

Athena sighed. "Alright then. Cuties Assemble!"

King Midas laughed again. "What do you mean, Cuties?"

"We are stamped by Manglobe as such – lovely, shiny, charming and smiling," announced Athena. "Now we come together to defeat you, and with this we are to take our final move to destroy you!"

She took out her cellphone, which was now ringing.


End file.
